Rorschach: The Defender Of Orre
by Pokefan92
Summary: After his hard-fought 2nd place in the Kalos League, Ash returns home only to be framed for the deaths of 3 of his loved ones. With the convincing evidence against him, everyone turns on Ash forcing him to flee. With the main regions all on the hunt for him, Ash heads to the Orre region under the name Rorschach to start a new life.
1. Rorschach Is Born

Hey, I know that there is next to no originality in betrayal fics, but I thought it would be an easy way to get into writing. I've tried to put my own spin on the overused theme so hopefully it'll stand out a little from the others.

I'm going to be honest and admit the SPG isn't my strong point so there will be errors and for that I apologise in advance.

This is the first chapter of the edited version of this story, I hope my old readers enjoy the improvements. If you're new here thanks for reading, the future chapters will have some changes as well to correlate with this.

Since this will be in the Orre region this story will heavily use the plot of Pokémon Gale of Darkness.

* * *

The Kalos League had gone far better than Ash had expected when he first arrived, sure he wanted to win but after a rather lacklustre performance in Unova he hadn't been overly confident so coming second and a very close second at that was incredibly. The result against Alain only made him want to train even harder for whatever region he would head to next, he knew deep down that the next region would be the one where he took that final step and won a regional league.

However first he had to get home and attend to customary 'surprise' congratulatory party for how he had done in the Kalos League, this time it was once again being held at Professor's Oak home. He only knew this since his mother had been so insistent to meeting him at the lab rather than at home. As soon as the lab came into view Ash hopped over the fence into the corral connected Professor Oak's lab, he wanted to drop off all of his Kalos Pokémon while he remembered so they could meet the others and enjoy being outside of their Pokéballs for a while.

The only exceptions were Pikachu and Greninja, the former remained seated on Ash's shoulder while the latter was resting in the Pokéball attached to Ash's waist. Ash never went anywhere without Pikachu and since unlocking his bond with Greninja he didn't want to be parted from him either.

After dropping off all of his Pokémon in the corral Ash sprinted up to the lab and stood outside the front door. He waited for a few moments and then Ash knocked on the door which creaked open as the door had been left unlocked, Ash found this a little odd but shrugged it off guessing that this was part of the surprise. He stepped inside the dark house and grinned as all the lights were out.

"Hey, mum, I'm home!"

Ash expected to hear a huge surprise from everyone he loved but after a few moments he had heard nothing. A confused look appeared on Ash's face as he wondered what was going on. He quickly turned on the lights and gasped as he saw broken furniture, smashed glasses, ransacked draws and perhaps most worryingly no sign of his mother who said she would meet him here. With the house in its current state Ash wasn't taking any chance and sent out Greninja as some extra protection in case whoever did this was still here.

Ash crept through the house desperately ignoring the sounds of glass breaking beneath his feet, calling out for his mother hoping that she would respond but his heart started to sink as he got nothing in return. A flickering light in the office drew Ash's attention and he immediately walked into the room and looked around. Ash felt sick as he saw the scene before him, his mother, Professor Oak and Tracey were all on floor, pools of blood surrounding them.

He ran over to his mother and collapsed to knees as he prayed that she was alright but as soon as he rolled her over his hopes were shatter, she was dead, as was Professor Oak and Tracey. Tears fell from Ash's eyes as he cradled his mothers' body in his arms, he was so wrapped up in her that he didn't hear several people enter the room and let out a group horrified gasp.

"Gramps! Ash what did you do?!"

Ash looked up from the body of his mother to his friends who were all looking at him fearfully, at first, he wondered why they were looking at him like that but then Gary's words clicked. They actually thought he had something to do with this, he couldn't believe that these people who he had known for years thought he was capable of doing something this horrific.

"It wasn't me, I just came here to see my mother and found them all like this."

Gary ignored Ash and basically collapsed next to his grandfather and held his body as he cried. Meanwhile Brock walked over to the computed to check the security feed, he replayed it, and everyone watched in horror as Ash and Pikachu entered the room and slowly dealt with Professor Oak, Tracey and Ash's mother Delia. With a sigh Brock shut off the footage, he hadn't wanted to believe Ash could do something like this, but the evidence was right there. Reluctantly Brock faced the young man he had once seen as a brother and then like everyone else stared at Ash.

"If you didn't do it Ash, explain this." Brock said.

"It's not true, someone is framing me." Ash pleaded.

Ash looked desperately at the people he'd travelled through entire regions with, people he thought were friends, even family. All Ash got was the same angry, disappointed and scared looks as before, Ash finally turned to Serena, the one person he was sure would support him because of the bond they had that transcended beyond friendship. To his dismay Serena turned away and looked down, Ash reached out to her, but she backed away and gave a shake of her head as some tears formed in her eyes.

"Please Serena think about it, why would I kill any of these people? I love them all especially my mother."

While it went unnoticed by some Ash saw Serena's eyes widen ever so slightly, enough to tell him that his words had obviously influenced her, at least a little bit anyway, the same could be said for Bonnie and Clemont who were also thinking over what Ash had said. All three knew that Ash had made an excellent point, they knew how much he loved his mother, it was obvious whenever they saw him calling her and it went without saying that Ash respected Professor Oak more than anyone else, so it would make no sense for Ash to just kill them for no reason.

Brock could see the Kalos companions being swayed by Ash's words and to a degree he was too, but the fact of the matter was there was video proof of the crime. As much as Brock didn't want to do this, he knew he had to stop Ash before he convinced the Kalos trio to side with him.

"You're going to have to pay for what you've done Ash." Brock said albeit reluctantly.

Ash took another glance at Serena, then Clemont and finally Bonnie all of whom still appeared to be thinking over what he had said. While he wanted to see if they would believe in him, Ash knew he had no more time to waste here, if he stayed much longer, he'd be captured. So, with apparently no one on his side Ash decided that he had to escape before the authorities arrived, a quick Flash from Pikachu gave Ash a little bit of time to run out of the lab and into the corral to collect his Pokémon. His friends may not believe him, but he was certain that his Pokémon would stand by him and help him escape, however he was met by a row of angry, disappointed and shocked stares.

Ash looked around desperately trying to see someone who believed in him, but they all shook their heads. While they may not have witnessed the footage that Ash's friends had they knew everyone had been fine the last time they had seen them, then Ash went in there and now all of a sudden, they were dead, which in their minds led to an obvious conclusion.

Ash turned around as he saw his former companions, apart from Serena, Bonnie and Clemont, all chasing after him and he was heartbroken. He'd always done everything he could to protect the people he loved and always had their backs but when he needed them to have his they had abandoned him. As hopeless as the situation seemed Ash wasn't going to give up, it wasn't in his nature to just quit, so he sent out Greninja and activated his Battle Bond with him.

Greninja then picked up Ash and launched himself into the air, quickly gliding away towards Viridian Forest using the Water Shuriken on his back. Ash just hoped that the Beedrill swarm there would distract their pursuers while he thought of a temporary solution to their problem.

* * *

While in theory Ash's idea of fleeing to Viridian Forest was solid, in practice it wasn't as Greninja could only glide so far and they landed half way down Route 1 which was nowhere near the safety that the Beedrill would hopefully provide. With no other options Ash, Greninja and Pikachu started to run up Route 1 hoping they would avoid the authorities that would be waiting in Viridian City. However, before they could get to far an old friend landed in front of them and scooped them onto her back as she flew north. Word had reached her of the events in Pallet Town and she knew that there was no way Ash would do those things.

"P-Pidgeot? You believe me?"

The flying type nodded and continued gliding north, Ash's plan had been relayed to her as well, so she was headed straight towards the thick forest north of Viridian, the blaring sirens of the police and his former friends following them in hot pursuit. After a short flight Pidgeot landed in Viridian Forest, Ash told the Beedrill what had happened, and they immediately headed to the south of the forest to buy Ash some time to escape.

All except one who instead chose to accompany Ash from now on, with only Greninja, Pidgeot and Pikachu by his side now the Beedrill understood that Ash needed all the help he could get. The Beedrill tapped a Pokéball on Ash's belt and allowed himself to be captured before Ash could decline his offer. Ash sent the bug back out and gave him a small grateful smile, in a time where everyone had turned on him it was nice to find a few allies.

"Alright the rest of the Beedrill will buy us some time but not much." Ash sighed and sat down on a tree stump. "What are we gonna do guys?"

Greninja, Pidgeot, Beedrill and Pikachu honestly didn't have a response to that, there didn't seem to be much they could do right now other than run and hope to avoid the authorities. The only thing they knew for sure was that they would stay by Ash's side until the very end, they would not abandon him no matter what. The sounds of battle could be heard in the distance, Ash, Pikachu, Pidgeot, Beedrill and Greninja all knew that the Beedrill were fighting hard to protect them, but they were gradually being defeated. After a few moments Ash got an idea for a temporary place they could rest at and then plan where to go.

"We'll have to risk staying on Mt Silver for a couple of days while I think of something else."

The Pokémon who had stayed loyal to Ash were dubious about Ash's plan, Mt Silver was known as the most inhospitable and dangerous places in all of the known regions. However, none of them could think of a better plan for now so they all nodded in agreement. Ash returned Greninja and Beedrill so there would be less weight for Pidgeot to carry and then the flying type launched herself into the air and nervously flew towards Mt Silver hoping that this risk would pay off.

The journey up Mt Silver was far more dangerous than they had anticipated due to the intense blizzard, the strong wild Pokémon living in the area and the unstable ground which felt like it could give way at any moment. They searched for something to use as a shelter to stay in and thankfully found an empty cave, Ash gathered the wood in the cave and made a campfire to try and keep them a little warm.

The cave they were in reminded Ash a lot of his first journey when he got stuck in a cave in the middle of a blizzard. Just like that day his Pokémon had refused to stay in their Pokéballs and instead surrounded him to help keep him warm which helped him fall to sleep quickly.

* * *

Back in Pallet Town all of Ash's former companions who had chased after Ash were now back at the lab trying to comfort Gary and mourning the loss of three people they cared about. The Kalos natives had kept their distance a little so they could think over what Ash had said before he left, between them they had agreed that they didn't think Ash was capable of something like this. The problem was they didn't know how to say this to a group of people they barely knew. Serena took a deep breath and then decided to take the plunge and try to defend Ash.

"Guys what if Ash was telling the truth? There's no motive for him to kill these people." Serena suggested

"Serena's right, Ash loved his mum, why would he kill her?" Bonnie added.

"And let's not forget that there are people and Pokémon who can mimic other people's appearance. It would be simple for someone or something to take on the appearance of Ash to do this." Clemont continued.

An argument soon broke out between the Kalos natives and everyone else, the only one who hadn't gotten involved was Gary who was still hugging the lifeless form of his grandfather. It eventually became too much for Gary though and everyone turned to look at Gary as they heard him mumbling something, the Pokémon Professor in training gently laid his grandfather down and slowly stood up directing a hateful glare at the trio from Kalos.

"Get out. Get out! Get out! GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Serena, Clemont and Bonnie quickly did as they were told knowing that staying would exacerbate the situation, so they quickly walked out of the lab and carried on to the outskirts of Pallet Town. As they reached the start of Route 1, they watched as a convoy of Police vehicles and ambulances flew past them and headed back north towards Viridian City.

Serena sat down at the base of a tree feeling awful, she had let Ash down when he had needed someone to be there for him and that only added to guilt, she felt for actually believing Ash was capable of such a hideous act. Bonnie and Clemont weren't feeling much better as they were just as much to blame, they had immediately believed what they had seen instead of thinking about it and questioning why Ash would do such a thing.

* * *

After a short while Serena finally stood up and started walking towards Viridian City closely followed by Bonnie and Clemont. It was eerily silent for a couple of minutes as the trio kept thinking over what had happened and what they could and probably should have done differently. They were all hoping that Ash was safe whenever he now was and that he could stay ahead of the police until the real killer was found.

"Where are we going Serena?" Bonnie asked.

"Home." Serena mumbled.

"What about Ash?" Bonnie asked.

"There's nothing we can do for him right now Bonnie. Until it's proven otherwise Ash is going to be seen as the killer. All we can do is hope that someone can prove Ash innocent before he gets captured." Clemont replied.

Bonnie nodded sadly as she grabbed a hold of her brothers' hand, the contact helped calm her down a little but couldn't do anything for the pain and guilt she was feeling for what happened to Ash. Clemont firmly held Bonnie's hand and did his best to put up a strong front for her, right now she needed him to be strong even if he didn't feel like it after the day's events. Meanwhile Serena wiped away the tears in her eyes as she walked a little ahead of Bonnie and Clemont, internally berating herself for believing that security footage.

* * *

Ash woke up from a nightmare and looked around the cave at his loyal Pokémon who were thankfully all still asleep, he'd been worried that he may have woken them, but it seems as though he hadn't. With a sigh Ash got up and left the slight warmth of the cave, he knew there was no chance of getting back to sleep no so he instead looked out over the mountains as the blizzard raged on. As the memories of the day once again caught up with Ash, he fell to his knees as tears started to trickle down his cheeks. He looked up at the sky imaging Arceus was there looking at him and glared as he asked the only question he had.

"Why?! Why?!" Ash shouted as his voice echoed through the mountains.

The shouts woke up Ash's four remaining Pokémon who quickly surrounded him and tried to provide any comfort they could for Ash as he broke down in front of them. The group did the closest thing they could do a hug around Ash hoping it showed just how much they all cared about him. Ash felt his only remaining family doing their best to console him and couldn't begin to express how much he appreciated what they were doing. Eventually Ash fell to sleep, the pain and suffering he'd been through today combined with his anguished cries had exhausted him.

The Pokémon who remained loyal to Ash looked at one another knowing that this would not be the last night they would have to do this. They just hoped that they could help him get past this in time, but for now all they could do was be there for Ash. As a particularly icy wind cut through the mountains Greninja picked up Ash and carried him back to the cave so he could rest in the slightly warmer conditions. The Pokémon then gathered around Ash making sure he couldn't wander off again without them if he did happen to wake up again.

* * *

A few days later Ash woke up as morning had once again come although up here on Mt Silver it was hard to tell when days started and ended because of the intense blizzard. Ash sighed as he started the fire he'd made in the cave, he knew they couldn't stay here any longer, there was no food up here and the weather conditions were terrible. They could only stay for another day or so before they would be forced to leave.

The problem was where to go, Ash knew he couldn't stay in any of the main regions, the police would be searching for him relentlessly, so he had to flee somewhere remote and hide there. A few places quickly came to mind like The Orange Archipelago and Sevii Islands, but they were reasonably well known and would probably be investigated too. After dismissing those areas Ash suddenly remembered hearing about a place called Orre, a tough and harsh area that no one tended to visit which sounded like the perfect place for him to go.

Ash quickly woke up his four remaining Pokémon and explained his idea which they all completely agreed with for the exact same reasons as Ash. With his Pokémon in agreement they left Mt Silver and headed in the general direction of the Orre region, since it was so remote Ash had no idea where precisely the region was only that it was to the west of Johto. As they flew over Johto Ash looked down at his clothes and knew he needed to get a new attire and ideally a mask to hide his identity, just in case the people of Orre know who Ash Ketchum it. So he made a slight detour so he could stop in Goldenrod and check out the department store, while it wasn't the safest option it would be his best chance of finding something suitable.

As night fell, Ash snuck into the Goldenrod department store with the help of Greninja who made quick work of the guards and security cameras. Ash felt a little guilty for doing this to these innocent guards, but he had to, he quickly searched through the clothing department taking a double-breasted trench coat, matching fedora, tailored pants, a pair of black leather gloves and finally a mask with a pattern that made Ash think of the Rorschach inkblots which gave him an idea for his new persona.

Once he was fully dressed Ash admired his new look in the mirror, it certainly disguised him well, he just hoped that it wouldn't make people ask too many questions. With his identity hidden and a new name to go by Ash then left the building with Greninja close behind, some of the guards had started to wake up so Greninja was reluctantly forced to once again knock them out. As soon as they were outside, Ash recalled Greninja and then sent out Pidgeot who crouched down so Ash could get on her back again. Once Ash was safely in place, Pidgeot launched herself into the air and they flew away into the night beginning their dangerous journey to Orre.

* * *

Author's Notes

So that's chapter 1, I'd appreciate any feedback.


	2. Rorschach To The Rescue

Hey so I'm new to writing and decided to start things off with perhaps the most overused cliché in the entire Pokémon fandom: betrayal. I know that there is next to no originality in betrayal fics, but I thought it would be an easy was to get into writing and try and put my own spin on it.

To answer a couple of questions Ash is 18 and I'll be adding ages for other characters later on. Also, Orre has no knowledge of Mega Evolution or Z-Moves however we will be getting them as well as a few evolutions that haven't been seen in any other regions later on.

* * *

After a hard month of travel, Ash, Pidgeot, Greninja, Beedrill and Pikachu finally arrived in the Orre region, it was not a journey Ash would want to do again although part of him knew that he would have to do it someday. What had made the trip even more difficult was the fact that he was a wanted fugitive, a very high priority one at that since he was being accused of murdering a Pokémon Professor.

Due to this they had to avoid any towns and cities as well as any well-travelled routes or areas commonly flown over or surfed on just to be safe. At one point they had been forced to backtrack as they had encountered an area filled with tourists and they weren't going to be leaving any time soon. Regardless of all the troubles getting to Orre, they had arrived and could now start building a new life.

It had only taken a day for Ash to find out why people in general avoided this region and some tried to believe that it didn't even exist. It was even harsher than the rumours said, just looking at a map of the region told him that as it seemed as though Orre was full of barren deserts, abandoned outposts and by the looks of it there was only one city, a few towns and some villages scattered across the region. Were the circumstances not so dire Ash doubted he would have ever come to this region and he doubted anyone else would which was perfect for him.

One consolation other than the fact that no one was likely to think he'd come here was that no one here seemed to know about what had happened in Pallet Town or who Ash Ketchum even was. It seemed as though Orre was almost completely segregated from the main regions which Ash was more than happy about. With his mask and a new persona, he had a chance to start again, he didn't know what he would do right now but at least he could do anything without having to worry about looking over his shoulder for any law enforcement.

For now, Ash was content with just exploring the region, there was only so much he could learn from the map after all. He wanted to take a look around for himself and try to find somewhere he could start his new life, he quickly disregarded the city, it was the one place that may well hear whispers of Ash Ketchum and what had been accused of doing. So, Ash started heading to the towns to check them out, he was hoping for something quiet and quaint much like Pallet Town was but he wasn't getting his hopes up. It seemed unlikely that you could find such tranquillity in a region as harsh as Orre.

* * *

Within a couple of weeks Ash had visited most of the major towns and had even risked heading into the city which was something he never wanted to do again. The city was small, dreary and not the sort of place you want to be as darkness fell. What Ash had noticed while travelling through his new home region it was that while Orre was a harsh place in terms of the environment, the people in general were the opposite to this.

A shop owner had explained to Ash that because of the difficulties faced in living in the harsh environments here the people were unified and in general always tried to help out others. There were the odd one or two exceptions of course, but they were few and far between.

So far Ash was reasonably satisfied with his decision to come here, while he hadn't chosen somewhere to stay yet, some of the places he'd visited thus far seemed like a viable option. He was still searching though as while he had a few good options open to him none of them had really stood out yet. None of them had drawn him in and made him want to stay there a start his new life there. Right now, he was heading north from Gateon Port which had so far been the best option, there was a variety of businesses there and there seemed to be plenty of places he could rent a room at, so he was sure he could find work and a place to live pretty easily.

After an hour or so of walking Ash suddenly spotted what looked like a Pokémon lab nearby, he knew there was one in Orre, but he thought it was further away from Gateon Port than this. Memories of what happened in Pallet Town soon appeared in Ash's head, the sight of finding his mother, Tracey and Professor Oak dead and having his life destroyed in an instant. The memories were all it took for Ash to turn around and start walking in the opposite direction back towards Gateon Port. He'd seen enough Pokémon labs in his life now, and the Professor here may have been told about him, which could put him and his Pokémon in danger.

However, Ash soon stopped walking away when he heard some yelling and screaming behind him, Ash turned around and saw a trio of people dressed in odd white outfits kidnapping a man who looked as though he was the professor of the lab. Despite a big part of Ash wanting to avoid getting involved in problems like this, he couldn't stand by and watch as evil people harmed innocent bystanders, but then again could he risk getting involved in someone else's business again?

As Ash had his internal debate the professor was then shoved in the back of the truck just as a trio of people ran out of the lab, the youngest one there was a blue haired girl who was crying and screaming for the man they had obviously kidnapped. The sight was enough to make up Ash's mind, had she not been there he may have been able to turn away, but he couldn't stand by and watching a young child so heartbroken. He quickly sent out Greninja, Pidgeot and Beedrill who were all immediately ready for battle, ever since the events in Pallet Town they'd been constantly on high alert just in case someone caught up with Ash.

"Stop that truck with Water Shuriken!"

The Battle Bond immediately activated and Greninja fired the large shuriken on his back at the truck tearing a hole down the side of it and disabling the vehicle. Smoke billowed out of the damaged truck as the person who'd been kidnapped quickly climbed out of the gaping hole in the truck and ran back towards the lab. However, he was immediately chased and once again captured by the goons in the odd armour who had sent out their Pokémon to help them.

"Alright, Greninja, Beedrill and Pidgeot use Aerial Ace to knock out the Pokémon and Pikachu use Thunder Wave on the kidnappers."

Greninja pulled two blades from his Water Shuriken and got ready to wipe out the Poochyena while Beedrill and Pidgeot aimed themselves at the Zubats, with a nod the trio all attacked their targets. At the same time electricity surrounded Pikachu and he fired it at the kidnappers which immediately sent them crashing to the floor twitching as the paralysis coursed through their bodies.

Their Pokémon soon joined them as without instructions they were easily wiped out by the combined might of Greninja, Beedrill and Pidgeot although even with instructions it would have only prolonged the inevitable by a few moments. Their Pokémon were obviously poorly trained and extremely weak which made Ash wonder how they managed to kidnap the man in the first place.

With the kidnappers and their Pokémon defeated Ash turned his gaze to the man he assumed was the professor of this lab who was looking from the paralysed men to his saviour and the Pokémon he owned. To say he was impressed by the man's power would be an understatement, it had been a long time since he had seen anyone show such overwhelming power and he was now hoping he could convince the man to help him deal with the growing threat to the Orre region.

"Thank you, I dread to think what might have happened had they successfully kidnapped me."

"It's fine, I'll accompany you home." Ash replied sharply.

"What about them?" the man asked as he gestured towards the paralysed goons.

"They've been paralysed by my Pikachu, they won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

That was the end of the conversation as Ash turned away from the twitching bodies and started walking towards the lab the kidnappers had dragged the professor from. Ash gave his four Pokémon a quick nod which was all the instruction they needed as Pidgeot and Beedrill flew high up to survey the area from above, Greninja fell back a little so he could watch the rear and Pikachu was on guard for anyone coming from the tree lines. The professor noticed how his saviours Pokémon had done this without a verbal command and was amazed at how well trained they clearly were.

"Thank you once again. I have to say that your Pokémon are very well trained."

"I know."

As soon as they got a little closer to the lab the trio of people who had been stood outside watching on desperately, ran to them and all hugged the professor. The little girl sobbing into his lab coat as he held her close. It made Ash feel a little uncomfortable really, as if he shouldn't really be here, he considered leaving but he wanted to be certain that the people here were safe and that the kidnappers would be arrested. Ash turned away from them and focussed on watching the kidnappers who were now unconscious as the effect of the Thunder Wave took its toll on them.

"Jovi thought you were gone." The blue haired girl whimpered.

"Well thanks to the man who saved me, I'm not going anywhere Jovi."

The woman dressed in pink was the first to release her hold on the man and then quickly started checking over him wondering whether he was alright considering how those Cipher goons had been manhandling him. While he appreciated the concern over his wellbeing, it was entirely unnecessary, and he merely chuckled which caused the woman to stop her fretting.

"I am fine thank you Lily." Professor Krane replied.

The woman immediately turned her gaze to the man Professor Krane was talking about, she had to admit that had he not just saved Professor Krane from Team Cipher she would have been wary and a little afraid of the man. The mask he wore on its own was enough to cause these feelings but combine that with the complete look of his whole attire as well as the powerful Pokémon he had with him and it made him look like a very intimidating and dangerous figure. However, he had shown that he has good intentions by intervening in something he didn't have to. Lily shuddered as she thought of what would have happened had this man not arrived to save the day.

"Thank you again for saving Professor Krane, I'm his assistant Lily, this is my daughter Jovi and my son Michael. Who might you be?"

"Rorschach." Ash replied gruffly as he turned to face the woman.

"Well thank you again Rorschach, is there anything we can do to repay you?" Lily asked.

"No… actually yes there is, do you know somewhere I can rent a room? I only just arrived here in Orre recently so all we have is the clothes on my back and some money."

"You're not renting a room in some shabby house for an insane amount of money, you'll stay with us." Lily insisted.

"I couldn't possibly impose on you." Ash replied.

"You wouldn't be imposing at all, you saved Krane from Team Cipher, giving you a place to rest is the least we can do."

"Come on Jovi will show you to your room." The little girl said.

Ash considered arguing further, not wanting to be a burden to them and not wanting to get to close to people again. After what had happened in Pallet Town, he was afraif of letting people get close to him and either get hurt of hurt him. However, the moment Jovi grabbed his hand he knew that there was no way he was getting out of this, so he simply sighed and allowed the little girl to lead him into the building with his Pokémon following close behind.

* * *

The lab was a lot different to what Ash was used to, but then the Orre region as a whole was completely different to anything he'd ever seen before in his travels through the main regions. Ash shrugged and continued allowing the young girl to drag him along to wherever he would be staying. She took him up the elevator and then led him down the corridor to the spare bedroom, she came to a stop and opened the door for him.

"Thank you, little girl."

The young girl nodded and then skipped away happily as if she hadn't been bawling her eyes out mere moments ago. Ash then shut the door to get a little privacy and hung his trench coat, hat and mask up on the hooks on the back of the door and then laid down on the bed relishing the soft bedding beneath him, over a month of sleeping rough in awful conditions had made him really appreciate beds. A knock at the door pulled Ash out of his thoughts and he reluctantly got up from the soft heaven that was the bed and put his mask back on, he then opened the door finding Lily stood outside carrying a large towel and a bag.

"Hi Rorschach, I thought you may want a shower, so I brought you a towel and some toiletries "

"Thank you, that's very generous of you."

Ash took the offered towel and toiletries and was now looking forward to having a nice, hot shower, another thing he hadn't gotten to enjoy since the events in Pallet Town. Being on the road had given him nothing but very cold baths in any secluded lakes they could find. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best option he had at the time.

"The shower is down the hall, it's the last door on the left. Afterwards we'd like it if you came down and joined us for dinner if you want to."

"Um sure, I'll get cleaned up and then I'll be down."

Lily nodded and then walked away leaving Ash alone who closed his door and stripped down until his was in his mask and underwear, he wrapped the towel around his waist and then walked to the bathroom. Ash locked the door behind him and removed the little clothing he still had on and got into the shower which immediately turned on. Ash sighed as the shower turned on, it had been so long since he'd been able to appreciate a shower especially one with warm water.

As much as he wanted to stay and savour the shower the people were waiting for him downstairs, so he reluctantly got out and dried himself with the towel. Ash then wiped the condensation off the mirror and looked at his reflection, with his beard and hair slightly grown out it hid a lot of the features that would make it easy to distinguish him especially since z marks on his face had finally faded. After a short internal debate Ash decided to leave the mask in the room he had been given, Orre had no idea what had happened and even if they did there was very little chance the people here would recognise him.

Ash left the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist and walked into the room he'd been given spotting a pile of clothes sat on the bottom of the bed with a note on top of them. A quick look at the note made Ash smile, Lily had thought he may want some clean clothes, so she left these here for him. Ash placed his mask on the bedside table and quickly got dressed into a black t-shirt and some black tracksuit bottoms.

"You wanna stay in here buddy?" Ash asked.

Pikachu nodded and curled up on the bed, usually he'd stay with Ash, but he'd eaten earlier and was feeling tired as he rested on the soft bed. Since Pidgeot, Greninja and Beedrill hadn't gotten to stay out of the Pokéballs much recently Ash sent the trio out, Pidgeot and Beedrill joined Pikachu on the bed while Greninja stood by the door on guard. Ever since the incident in Pallet Town, Greninja had become far more protective and was vigilant in his self-appointed duty as the protector of the small group.

"If I say the word come and help, okay?"

Greninja nodded to show he understood and then gave Ash a quick hug before retaking his position hiding in the shadows near the door. Ash took a quick look back at the now sleeping trio of Pokémon and then took a deep breath as he walked out of the room he'd been given and stepped into elevator which quickly took him down to the ground floor. The doors opened, and Ash waited a moment to calm himself and then walked out of the elevator giving the four people sat around the table a clear view of his face.

* * *

Authors notes

So that's chapter 2 done, next time we'll be taking a short time out from Ash and heading up to the mighty Hall of Origins.


	3. Arceus' Mistake

Oh, before someone asks it Ash will not be paired with Lily.

We'll be starting off this chapter a little before the beginning of chapter 1. This gets a little visceral, I don't go into tremendous detail but if that makes you uncomfortable just skip past the start of the chapter to the first line break.

* * *

The legendary Pokémon were gathered in The Hall of Origins watching the events of the world transpiring. While most of them were relatively calm Mewtwo felt anxious as he watched an unknown cloaked human walking towards Pallet Town. There was something off about him, his instincts told him that this person could not be trusted, and his instincts were very rarely wrong.

The clone of Mew looked around the Hall of Origins and could see a few others starting to look a little anxious as well, as they were clearly having the same feelings as him. However, the majority of the legendary Pokémon gathered here seemed oblivious to any possible danger this human could cause, the most important one being Arceus who seemed more than happy to allow this human to carry on.

"Arceus I have a bad feeling about that human, I believe we should stop him and find out who he is and what he wants." Mewtwo suggested.

"Mewtwo, you know that we are not allowed to intervene in the human world unless it is a dire need or involves one of us directly. This human has given me no reason to question his intentions, so he shall be left alone." Arceus replied firmly.

With that Arceus turned his focus back to the viewing table as did Mewtwo, while the clone wanted to argue further it was clear that Arceus would not change his mind and the God Pokémon's word was final. The clone looked around the room at the others who were also concerned about the intentions of the unknown man hoping that someone would jump in and help him but was disappointed to see them all look away.

Unlike him they were not willing to dispute anything Arceus said or did, they were blindly loyal to him and nothing was likely to change that, not even the potential threat to Ash. Mewtwo settled for grumbling in discontent and he internally cursed Arceus for his ignorance, he only hoped that this human didn't prove to be dangerous although Mewtwo didn't have a lot of faith in humans.

The legendary Pokémon all watched the viewing table closely, and several felt even more suspicious as the guy slunk into Professor Oak's lab making sure to remove his cloak as he made his presence known to Delia, Professor Oak and Tracey. Every legendary was surprise to see a doppelganger of Ash stood in the lab, they obviously knew it wasn't the real him as they were watching him walking home to Pallet Town at the same time.

One by one the legendary Pokémon all started to share Mewtwo's suspicions and many took furtive glances at Arceus wondering what he was going to do but the God Pokémon didn't even look concerned. The legendary Pokémon all turned their attention back to the viewing table and hoped that nothing bad would come of Arceus' decision to not intervene.

They watched as Delia stepped forward to hug her son but then suddenly stopped as she got a good look at him, it was obvious that she could tell that this wasn't the real Ash which wasn't surprising to anyone. While many could be deceived by a disguise, a mother never would be. However, before she could even question the imposter or warn Professor Oak or Tracey the unknown man stepped forward and plunged a blade into Delia's stomach.

A look of horror formed on Delia's face as she staggered back clutching her stomach and fell into the arms of Professor Oak who tried desperately to stop Delia from bleeding out. Moments later Tracey collapsed to the floor with a similar wound, despite the pain he was clearly in Tracey reached for Scyther's Pokéball but it was swiftly kicked out of his hand before he could summon him.

* * *

The legendary Pokémon all watched on uselessly, some with tears in their eyes as the man finished the job, quickly dispatching Professor Oak and finishing off Delia and Tracey and looking incredibly proud of what he had done. The man then went on almost a frenzy as he destroyed furniture, smashed windows and left the lab in total disarray, he then fled the scene leaving the three bodies in a heap on the ground.

A few of the legendary Pokémon turned their gaze from the table and glared at Arceus for not listening to Mewtwo, who was growling with his fists clenched. The clone turned his gaze to Arceus whose head was bowed although you could clearly see the regret and remorse on the God Pokémon's face.

"Oh no." Latias suddenly gasped.

The legendary Pokémon all turned their focus back to the viewing glass wondering what had cause that reaction from Latias and watched Ash walk into the lab and find his mother, Professor Oak and Tracey dead. A combination of guilt and sorrow filled them as they watch Ash cradle her body as he cried, and they could feel his pain and suffering.

Rage started to build up a few of them, especially Mewtwo, as they watched The Chosen One's now former friends enter the room and then believe that he was the murderer before even watching the security recordings. The feeling only grew more intense as they saw them chase him out of Pallet Town with only Pikachu and Greninja as the other Pokémon had believed Ash to be guilty without even watching the security footage.

The only consolation was that Pidgeot had found him and was going to stay with him and that the Beedrill were going to give him the chance to escape but in the grand scheme of things it was a small speck of light in an incredibly dark day. They watched as Ash came up with a plan to stay temporarily on Mt Silver which petrified many of them as Mt Silver was known as the most dangerous place in any region.

Almost all who travelled to that accursed mountain never returned, the horrific blizzards, wild Pokémon or lack of food or shelter led to their demise. Even some of the legendary Pokémon gathered here feared to go there and face the horrendous conditions that plagued that accursed mountain.

They watched as despite some hesitancy from the Pokémon they all quickly agreed with the idea Ash had come up with. So, with no arguments from his Pokémon, Ash once again climbed onto Pidgeot who started flying towards the perilous mountain.

* * *

There was a small speck of hope around the table as they watched Ash go to sleep amongst the few loyal Pokémon he had left although that hope started to fade as they watch the boy clearly suffering from a nightmare until he was finally awoken. To their surprise and horror Ash left the warmth of the cave and walked out into the blizzard until he came to a stop at the edge of the mountain. For a moment they worried that he would jump however instead screamed in a pain filled voice that echoed through the mountain and fell to his knees.

The legendary Pokémon all suddenly collapsed as they felt the pain and sorrow radiating from Ash, as he was The Chosen One, he was bonded to them, so they felt every ounce of his pain. Some writhed in agony as they had never experienced pain like this before, even after Ash had passed out and the pain had faded, they remained on the ground recovering from what had just happened. The pain had been overwhelming, and they could all only wonder how Ash was able to cope with the amount of pain he was in.

Mewtwo was the first to push himself back up but he felt incredibly woozy after the overwhelming emotional pain he felt from Ash. Pain was not a stranger to Mewtwo, he'd suffered it many times in the past but the torment he'd been through was nothing compared to what he felt from Ash right now. This only helped increase the guilt he was feeling, this was their fault, they could have prevented this but because of Arceus' and his obliviousness.

"So, how are we going to help him?" Mewtwo asked.

"We are not." Arceus simply replied as he too got back up.

Many of the legendary Pokémon all looked at Arceus in shock as one by one they got back to their places at the table, they could only wonder why Arceus would refuse to help Ash after what had just happened to him. They could understand to a degree why they couldn't get involved prior to this, but now The Chosen One was completely broken, almost entirely alone and in an overwhelming amount of pain. How on earth could this not be seen as a dire need?

"Unless Ash becomes a threat to himself or others we cannot get involved."

"You can't be serious. You want to leave Ash to do as he pleases after what we have just seen and felt?!" Mewtwo yelled as his anger built.

"Papa hurting, papa need help. I go to papa." Manaphy declared.

"I cannot allow that Manaphy, we cannot intervene. I apologise but I am merely following the code I have followed since the very beginning of time, I cannot change that just because The Chosen One has suffered from an unfortunate incident."

Manaphy whimpered and then left the Hall of Origins, heartbroken that he couldn't help Ash when he needed help. A few of the legendary Pokémon including Latias, Lugia and Ho-oh started to argue with Arceus over his decision however a roar for silence from Arceus was all it took to immediately end the debate as the legendary Pokémon all shrank away from the God Pokémon.

Mewtwo sighed as he watched them give up so easily and then got up from his place at the table, he had to leave before he did something he would regret in the future. While he wanted nothing more than to hit Arceus with his most powerful Psychic attack, he knew that that would do nothing to help Ash. Mewtwo had never felt more helpless and pathetic, the boy who had sacrificed so much and had saved many of the Pokémon in this room, himself included, was now left with only four Pokémon on his side. What made it worse was that he was in a world that is now hunting him down for a crime he didn't commit.

"I am returning to Mt Quena, I cannot be here any longer after what has just happened. When you allow us to intervene, I request that I be the one who goes to him." Mewtwo asked.

"Why are you so adamant about helping a human? You despise them." Arceus replied.

"Ash is not like the other humans, I trust him, and I will do anything in my power to help him when the time comes."

"Very well if we have to intervene you shall be the one who is sent to him first."

Mewtwo gave a small nod in response and then teleported out of the Hall of Origins, while he wanted to go home to Mt Quena and think of a plan to help Ash, he knew he had to let out his anger. After a quick search of an old abandoned warehouse Mewtwo allowed himself to give into that rage and vaporised the building and the surrounding area with a single wave of psychic energy. He knew that had anything been nearby it too would have been vaporised which was why he needed to find a place like this.

With his anger partially quelled Mewtwo felt calm enough to return home without accidentally destroying anything. In flash of light he teleported home and was immediately surrounded by his fellow clones who could feel the anger still radiating from Mewtwo, so they did what they could to calm him down which helped almost as much as vaporising that warehouse had. The clones then gave Mewtwo some space which he appreciated, while the clones were always good at helping him relax, there were times where he needed to be alone and the clones knew that.

Mewtwo sat at the base of a tree and thought over the tragedy that had happened today, he cursed Arceus again for being so oblivious to a potentially threat and swore to himself to somehow make the God Pokémon pay for this. While the events of today had made Mewtwo unsure of many things, especially the trust he once had in Arceus, there was one thing he knew without a shadow of a doubt; someday he would help Ash Ketchum and make sure he never had to suffer like this again. He just hoped that Ash wouldn't do anything to reckless before he was there to protect him.

* * *

Author's notes

I know that this chapter is a little short but it's here to add a little more information on the day as well as lay down the foundation for Mewtwo's role later on in the story.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	4. New Destiny

As always thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter and will enjoy the rest of the story.

So far I've just been doing minor improvements, next chapter will be when a few more significant changes will take place.

* * *

The moment Ash exited the elevator four pairs of eyes immediately focussed on him and Ash felt a little self-conscious as they all stared at him. The stares he was getting from the four people sat around the table made him a little uneasy and he was starting to regret his decision to come down here without his mask. Part of him was seriously considering going back upstairs and getting his mask, just as he was about to turn around, he saw the professor grin at him.

"So, there was indeed a face hiding under that mask." Krane said light-heartedly.

"Yeah, I'm not usually comfortable letting people see my face but since you've been so accommodating to me, I thought it was the least I could do." Ash replied as he calmed down.

The adults could tell that the young man was still feeling a little uncomfortable, so they then turned their focus away from Ash to each other, it was clear to Ash that they were giving him the option of what happened next. After taking a moment to gather himself Ash took a deep breath to steady himself and then walked up to the table. Once there he wasn't exactly sure where he should sit although that conundrum was quickly solved by the young blue haired girl who pulled the seat next to her out a bit.

"Jovi saved you a seat mister Rorschach." Jovi said.

"Thank you." Ash said as he sat in the offered seat.

"Jovi wants to know why you wear that mask." The young girl asked.

Ash wasn't surprised to hear her ask that, the young girl seemed inquisitive and a little odd especially with her constantly speaking in third person. Out of the corner of his eye, Ash saw Lily about to say something, presumably to scold her for being rude and held his hand up to her to say it's fine. The mother frowned and then nodded clearly not happy but respecting his wishes which he appreciated.

"It's simple really, the reason I wear my mask is because I'm secretly a superhero."

Jovi gasped and then shuffled her chair a little closer. "No way, you're a real superhero?"

"It's true, I am a real superhero and the mask protects my secret identity. That means you have to keep what I look like secret. Can you do that Jovi?"

"Yeah! Jovi can do that and so can my brother. Right Michael?"

"Sure. Um can I ask how you and you Pokémon got so strong?" Michael asked.

Once again Ash wasn't surprised to hear that question, from what he'd seen Orre didn't have a lot of trainers outside of some place called Mt Battle. So, seeing someone of his skill appear out of nowhere was going to make a young trainer curious. Ash carefully though over how he should reply to the question, he had to give enough information to sate the young trainer's curiosity but at the same not reveal too much about himself.

Michael watched as the man appeared to be in deep thought as if he was considering how he should reply which wasn't that surprising, he was obviously a very secretive man, so he wasn't going to give out too much information. Michael had to admit that he was a little in awe of the man, the power he had displayed when he saved Professor Krane was amazing and he was hoping the maybe one day Rorschach would teach him. after what had happened today Michael knew that he needed to get stronger, so if there was another incident like today, he could protect everyone here.

"Well we've been training for a little over eight years now, so we've had plenty of time to get strong together." Ash eventually replied.

While that did answer Michael's question, he was now wondering why he'd spent that time training. From what Michael knew the man only seemed to have the Pikachu, Greninja, Pidgeot and Beedrill which ruled out him being a Pokémon trainer who competed in the other regions Leagues. If he were a trainer, he would have far more Pokémon than just those four especially if he'd been training for eight years.

Maybe he was a Pokémon Ranger? Michael had heard stories of people dedicating themselves to protecting Pokémon from people like poachers and setting up conservation areas for rare and endangered Pokémon. That idea was quickly dismissed as well though since Rorschach didn't seem like the type of person that the stories of the Pokémon Rangers suggested. Maybe he was a mercenary then? No, if he was then he'd work for Team Cipher since they would pay a lot of money for a guy this powerful.

"I used to foil the plans of evil organisations, it was easy for me to infiltrate bases with only four Pokémon." Ash stated as he saw the puzzled look on Michaels face.

That seemed to satisfy the young boy as he nodded and then started to eat the meal laid out in front of him. Ash was quite grateful that the boy hadn't pressed further with his questioning, while what he said wasn't exactly a lie since he had done that in the past it was also a long way off the truth. Over the course of his journey to Orre and the short time he'd spent here so far, he had bent the truth a few times when interacting with people he'd met in stores, but he didn't want to do that with the people sat at this table. They had welcomed him into their home, clothed him and made a hot meal for him, the least he could do was not lie to them, that didn't mean he was going to start telling them his secrets though.

Ash then turned his attention to the dinner on the table, at this point Ash was willing to eat almost anything hot as over a month on the run had led to him having a diet of berries and whatever things they could pinch without being seen. So, having something as simple as a bowl of spaghetti was incredible in comparison to that, plus he was able to eat at his own pace rather than practically inhaling it just in case anyone caught him.

It was nice sitting down at a table with people as well, it well to a dinner that was pleasant and something Ash could get used to. Over the course of dinner, they had spoken about rather general topics as they ate, Ash had answered question about Pokémon battling while they had told him fact about the Orre region. Ash knew that the Professor and Lily wanted to discuss what happened earlier but had chosen to talk about regular topics, mostly because the children were here, and they didn't want to upset Jovi and Michael.

Even though he'd only known them for a short time Ash knew that while the latter could probably deal with it, the former clearly couldn't, mostly because of her age but Ash detected there was something else that had affected the young girl.

* * *

Once dinner was finished Lily brought in a lemon meringue pie which was split up into five pieces although the adults obviously had slightly larger slices much to Michael and Jovi's disgruntlement. Ash smiled and showed some restraint as he savoured the delicious pie which was like eating a slice of heaven after the month he'd spent without any kind of deserts.

As soon as everyone had finished their dessert Jovi and Michael cleared the table and were ushered towards the elevator by Lily with contrasting reactions from them. Michael nodded and did as Lily asked, Jovi on the other hand was not quite so willing to leave, she still loads of questions for the man who'd saved Professor Krane."

"Jovi's not tired." The young girl stated.

"Jovi, you know that it's time for bed now."

"Aww but Jovi wants to talk to Rorschach more." Jovi whined.

"You can tomorrow Jovi, right now me and Professor Krane must speak with him in private."

Jovi frowned but nodded knowing that she wasn't going to change her mother's mind, so she settled for at least saying goodnight to him, she leaned to the side, so she could see around her mother and waved at Ash. A soft smile formed on Ash's face as he dutifully waved back at the girl making her smile as well.

"Night, night, mister Rorschach."

"Goodnight Jovi." Ash replied.

After waving at the man again Jovi reluctantly joined Michael in the elevator, the doors quickly closed before Jovi could change her mind and it took the children up to the second floor. Lily let out a relieved sigh that Jovi had done as she was asked with very little fuss and then sat back down at the table but stayed quiet as she listened to Jovi and Michael moving around upstairs.

After a couple of minutes, two doors closed and then the noises stopped, with nothing but silence now coming from upstairs Lily then turned her focus to the man who had saved them earlier. There was no way she could even begin to explain just how grateful she was for his intervention, she didn't even want to think about what might have happened had the kidnapping been a success.

"Well, by the sounds of it they seem to have gone to sleep early tonight." Professor Krane stated.

"Yeah, I guess they're tired after what happened today." Lily replied.

"That's understandably after what nearly happened to the Professor. So, now that the children are gone, we can talk about earlier today. Tell me, who were those guys and why did they want Professor Krane?" Ash asked.

"They are Team Cipher, a group who are trying to corrupt all Pokémon by turning them into Shadow Pokémon and conquering the world. They wanted me to help them turn all of the Pokémon in the Orre region into Shadow Pokémon." Professor Krane replied.

"What's a Shadow Pokémon?"

"A Pokémon that has had its heart closed off so all it feels is anger and hatred, it also gives them access to Shadow moves which harness the darkness within them. We've created a machine to free Shadow Pokémon by purifying them but retaking them from Team Cipher is almost impossible. We don't have the power to stand up against them as today proved." Lily answered.

The end of Lily's statement was clearly a plea for his help, which left Ash feeling torn on what he should do. He wanted to start a new life and get away from all that saving the world shit which he is sure is what had led to what happened in Pallet Town. On the other hand, Ash loved Pokémon and the mere idea that these people wanted to twist and taint these Pokémon like this sickened him. Could he really stand and watch as Pokémon were corrupted by these Shadows and forced to do what this evil group wanted?

In a way it felt like whichever choice he made would be the wrong one, either he got involved and once again put himself in harm's way or he allowed innocent Pokémon to be hurt and potentially condemn this whole region to Team Cipher. After a short internal debate Ash made his choice, in the end the noble part of him couldn't stand by and allow Pokémon to be used like this. He cursed himself for still retaining his heroic side in spite of everything that happened because of said heroism.

"Alright, this Team Cipher obviously needs to be stopped, I can't stand by and allow innocent Pokémon to be corrupted like that. Let's work together and take these guys down."

As soon as Ash finished Lily and Professor looked at each in relief and slight surprise, they thought the man would refuse to help them, sure he had helped them earlier but that was against a few goons. Now they were asking him to help fight an entire organisation with next to no support. They both felt a rush of confidence and belief that they could finally deal with Team Cipher now that they had a strong trainer on their side to fight the evil faction and their Shadow Pokémon.

They both shook his hand and thanked him for agreeing to help them, Lily was especially grateful to have the young man's help. Prior to Rorschach's arrival they had been discussing sending Michael on the mission to stop them, solely because he was the only real trainer here, but they seem to have gotten lucky with the arrival of Rorschach. Lily had never been comfortable with the idea of sending her eleven-year-old son off to battle a group of evil people as formidable as Team Cipher but sadly he was the best trainer here by far especially since Wes and Rui had left the region and no one knew where they had gone.

"Do you know where I can catch some more Pokémon? Right now, I only have my Pikachu, my Pidgeot, my Beedrill and my Greninja and as strong as they are, I'd like a few more if I'm taking on an entire organisation." Ash asked.

"Orre doesn't have much in the way of wild Pokémon due to the conditions however there are a few spots where a small number of Pokémon inhabit. We'll take you to those locations and see what we can find." Professor Krane replied.

"Well, I'd best go get some rest in preparation for tomorrow, thank you for dinner and I will see you both in the morning."

Ash got up from the table and headed upstairs to get some rest, the prospect of sleeping on a proper bed for the first time since the Kalos League had him feeling sleepy already. As soon as the elevator doors opened Ash walked to the room he'd been given and closed the door behind him, when he turned around, he found his four Pokémon all wide awake looking determined. Ash let out a chuckle as he realised his Pokémon had been listening in on their conversation downstairs and already knew the plan of action.

"Are you all with me?" Ash asked.

An emphatic nod from each of them answered the question and Ash hugged them all, thanking them individually for staying by his side through everything that had happened. A series of yawns from them all reminded them of how tired they still were, none of them had truly gotten a good night's sleep in the past month. Constant worries of being found by the authorities and Ash's nightmares making it very difficult for them to get much sleep at all.

Tonight, though they had no such worries, Pidgeot and Beedrill quickly fell to sleep at the bottom of the bed, shortly after Greninja leaned against the bed so he was facing the door and joined them in slumber leaving Ash and Pikachu awake.

"Well buddy it seems that no matter where we go, we're forced to fight off evil. This time will be different though, we'll crush Team Cipher and make sure that no one has to suffer the same loss that we have and that we don't lose anyone we care about again."

Pikachu nodded and nuzzled Ash's face briefly before curling up close to him and falling to sleep, Ash hugged the mouse close to him and like his Pokémon drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile outside the room Lily was staring at the door sadly, she'd come to the room to ask Rorschach if he needed anything else but stopped when she heard him talking with his Pokémon. It broke her heart hearing him speak about the loss he suffered as she had experienced a similar feeling in the not too distant past when her husband was taken from them. Lily let out a shaky sigh and then headed to her bedroom to rest for tomorrow.

* * *

Author's notes

We'll soon be getting onto the battles against Team Cipher, as I said before this will follow the story of Gale of Darkness with Ash replacing Michael. Don't worry I won't be going straight to a tournament after the fight with Team Cipher, I have a few other things planned first.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	5. Forming Bonds & Cutting Ties

Here's where the first big changes appear mostly revolving around a couple of things involving the legendary Pokémon specifically Manaphy.

Hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

Ash woke up early the next day as had become the norm nowadays. It wasn't a personal choice on Ash's part to wake up early, the truth was he didn't sleep much now since most of his dreams or rather nightmares revolved around what had happened in Pallet Town. The only relief he had this morning was that unlike usual he didn't seem to have woken anyone up, so he obviously hadn't made much noise during the nightmare.

Either that or his Pokémon were fully enjoying the first good chance to rest they had had in a long time. Since he knew there was no way he'd get back to sleep now, Ash quietly got up, so he didn't wake up Greninja, Pidgeot, Beedrill or Pikachu and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Ten minutes later Ash walked out of the bathroom and went downstairs to wait for the others to wake up, he sat at the table they had all shared dinner at last night and was thinking about his new goal of taking down Team Cipher. He didn't get much time to think about that though as he was soon approached by a group of five small Eevee's who hopped up onto the table and sat in front of him.

Ash reached out, so he could scratch behind the fox's ears and under their chins hearing them letting out what he could only describe as a purr as they nuzzled close to him. A soft smile appeared on Ash's face as he looked at the five Eevee's who had now settled themselves on his various parts of his body.

"Well it seems our young Eevee's have taken a shine to you." Lily suddenly declared startling Ash. "Michael has one too, I wanted Jovi to have one as well but these five never seemed that interested in her or anyone for that matter. Yet you turn up and within a few minutes they are putty in your hands. I think it's in their best interest to stay with you Rorschach."

"Are you sure Lily?"

"One hundred percent, they're clearly attached to you already and you'll need all the help you can get if we're going to defeat Team Cipher."

"Okay well Eevee's would you like to join me?"

The quintet cheered and nodded making their answer clear, Ash wasted no time and quickly tapped all five with a Pokéball each to capture them and then sent them back out. The Eevee's wasted no time taking their places on Ash's body and nuzzling him making Ash smile softly. No matter how bad things were Ash could always rely on the love and friendship of Pokémon to make him feel better.

Lily looked at Rorschach wondering whether or not she should bring up what she overhead last night, it was something she'd been thinking about for a lot of the night. Whatever had happened to him was obviously still affecting him deeply. It was a tough decision but, in the end, Lily chose not to address it, Rorschach seemed like a very private man and he may not appreciate her hearing something that was clearly very personal between him and his Pokémon. Besides he looked so comfortable and happy with the Eevee's and she didn't want to spoil that.

So, Lily decided instead to head off to the kitchen to get some breakfast for herself and Rorschach while he played with his new Eevee's. It was nice to see that Rorschach had a softer side which he obviously reserved for Pokémon and anyone he allowed to get close which she hoped would include her, Jovi, Michael and Professor Krane in time. Breakfast was quickly made, and Lily brought everything out on some trays with the help of a few of the Pokémon that lived at the lab

"I've made us some breakfast Rorschach."

"Oh, hello Lily, I'm sorry I didn't notice you leave or come back." Ash chuckled nervously as he realised that.

"Well I saw you and the Eevee's and decided to leave you be while I made some breakfast for us."

"Thanks Lily, I appreciate that."

The pair started to eat the breakfast Lily had prepared, it may have only been some cereal, some fruit juice and a pot of tea but to Ash that was incredible compared to his time on the run. It was also nice to be able to sit peacefully at a table without having to worry about law enforcement catching him. Ash caught Lily staring at him out of the corner of his eye and was curious what was on her mind.

"Everything okay Lily?"

"Yeah sorry I was just thinking that well I know this may sound selfish but I'm glad you arrived and agreed to help us Rorschach. If you hadn't then it would be my Michael going out there trying to stop those evil men." Lilly stated.

"It's not selfish Lilly, those are the words of a loving mother. Michael is young and someone his age shouldn't be worrying about saving the world."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"Yeah, I am." Ash replied with a hint of sadness.

The way Rorschach had said that confirmed what Lily had heard last night and part of her wished she could talk to him and help him, but she knew that he wouldn't appreciate that, not yet but maybe someday he would be. Instead Lily smiled softly at Rorschach who gave her a quick nod and then went back to eating breakfast. The pair ate in nigh on silence, the only sound being the Eevee's nuzzling their new trainer knowing that something was obviously wrong. Lily glanced at the clock and realised that the other scientists that worked here would arrive soon.

"You should go get your mask, the scientists who work here will arrive soon and I'm guessing you don't want them to see your face."

"You're right, thank you Lily."

Ash got up and headed back upstairs to get his mask with his quintet of Eevee's close behind, he also needed to go and wake up all his Pokémon, so they could get some breakfast. As he travelled up the elevator Ash thought about his upcoming quest to eradicate Team Cipher. With only Greninja, Pidgeot, Pikachu, Beedrill and now the Eevee's by his side Ash knew he needed to catch more Pokémon if he was going to help take down Team Cipher however the lands of Orre were harsh and very few Pokémon lived there naturally in the wild. All he could do was hope that these Poké Spots would have some Pokémon that would be willing to join him.

* * *

After retrieving his mask and getting some breakfast for his Pokémon, Ash found Professor Krane who had readied the desert vehicle for their journey today. After making a few adjustments to the vehicle Professor Krane took Ash to the first Poke Spot hidden in a dark cave on the side of Mt Battle. When they arrived at the first stop Professor Krane stayed with the vehicle as Ash explored the three areas. Eventually Ash returned from the cave with a new Pokémon, an Aron which had willing agreed to join Ash in his fight to protect Orre from Team Cipher.

When Ash got back into the vehicle Professor Krane quickly drove to the second spot, the Oasis Poke spot in the western side of Orre close to Pyrite Town. A quick hunt around the area found small groups of Hoppip, Phanpy and Surskit living in the Oasis. There was a volunteer from both the Hoppip and the Surskit, the Phanpy on the other hand were not so eager to join this fight. This was a relief for Ash, he couldn't bring himself to train another Phanpy after what Donphan had done.

With three new Pokémon on his team Ash was feeling a bit more confident but was hoping for at least one or two more from the final area. They finally arrived at the final area which was this time out in the deserts of western Orre close to the Outskirt Stand. As before Ash left Professor Krane with the vehicle while he searched for any Pokémon who would help him defeat Team Cipher. Similar to his hunt in the cave near Mt Battle Ash managed to find a single new addition to his team, it was a Pokémon he'd wanted for a while, a Trapinch.

Ash tried searching high and low for any others, but he couldn't find any other Pokémon that wanted to get involved in the battle against Team Cipher. With the new additions to his team Ash was now sitting with a party of thirteen. While it wasn't as many as he hoped it would be enough for now considering that Ash knew that he would be able to capture any Shadow Pokémon he encountered with the Snag Machine. Ash got back into Professor Krane's desert vehicle and stared at the Pokéballs containing the new Pokémon he had captured as they drove back to the lab.

* * *

Once they got back to the lab, Ash went up to the room he had been given, there was one last thing Ash needed to do before he fully dedicated himself to this life and he needed some privacy. It wasn't something he really wanted to do but if he was to leave the last traces of Ash Ketchum's life behind it meant severing any remaining ties. With his friends and former Pokémon all against him there was only one group left to distance himself from, the legendary Pokémon. With them out of his life and the role of Chosen One gone he could complete his transition to his life in Orre.

Ash closed his eyes and focussed on his bonds with the legendary Pokémon, he started with the ones he knew little about since that would be easier. Despite knowing he had to do this it still made Ash feel a little sad as he felt his connections to all the legendary Pokémon slowly fading away, memories of time spent with ones like Latias in his mind as his ties to them were severed. At one time they had been treasured memories but now all they did was remind him of everything he did for them and how they did nothing for him in return.

Ash stopped breaking the links when he got to the final two Pokémon; Manaphy and Mewtwo, Ash decided to focus on the clone first. Out of all the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo was quite possibly the one he was saddest to lose apart from Manaphy. While Ash was sure that Mewtwo probably fought harder than anyone else to help but was overruled by Arceus, despite his friendship with the clone he couldn't risk keeping any ties to Arceus.

However, he did at least want to say farewell to Mewtwo, Ash focussed on Mewtwo and they were both brought to an empty void. The pair stared at each other both knowing what was about to happen, they placed a hand on each other's shoulder and were saddened as they knew that this could well be the last time they meet.

"Goodbye my friend."

"Farewell Ash, for what it's worth I'm sorry."

Ash nodded with tears in his eyes not trusting his voice to say the words he wanted to. Ash just hoped that Mewtwo would realise in time that this was not his fault, although he knew that that probably wouldn't happened since Mewtwo would forever blame himself for what happened even though he tried harder than anyone else to do something. The pair let go of one another and then Ash willed himself away from this place before he changed his mind on what he was doing leaving Mewtwo alone in the void. The clone looked down his hand for a moment and then like Ash went back to his body.

* * *

This left one legendary Pokémon, the one that Ash was closest to, Manaphy. Tentatively Ash reached out and touched the bond between himself and Manaphy and was almost overwhelmed as he felt nothing but love in their bond. Just as he had with Mewtwo Ash allowed himself to be taken to the empty void area, but this time was with Manaphy who immediately launched himself at Ash and hugged him. A tender smile crept onto Ash's face and he held Manaphy close to him.

"Love you papa."

The emotion in Manaphy's voice made Ash think about what he was thinking of doing to this young innocent Pokémon. He was basically going to make Manaphy an orphan, he would be completely and rather brutally severing their connection and since Manaphy had no contact with May at all he would be completely alone. There was no way he could do this to Manaphy, he knew how the pain of losing someone you love dearly and didn't want Manaphy to suffer the same as he had.

As much as he hated Arceus and the to some degree the others for allowing the events of Pallet Town to transpire, he wouldn't hurt Manaphy like that, he would just have to merely weaken the bond instead. This meant that he would either have to take Manaphy with him to Orre and risk whatever consequences that would lead to or send him to May, so he would at least have her to comfort him.

"I love you too Manaphy. Would you like to stay with me?"

"Arceus say I no allowed." Manaphy mumbled sadly.

"What would happen if you went against his wishes?"

"I get kicked out of Hall forever."

Ash couldn't let that happen to Manaphy, getting kicked out of the Hall of Origins would mean he would be exiled forever and while Ash didn't care about that place anymore, he knew Manaphy did. He didn't want Manaphy to resent him someday just because of his hatred for Arceus and his anger at the legendary Pokémon for not doing more to help his mother. This meant that there was only one other option left, one that Ash really didn't want to do but he had to for Manaphy's sake no matter how much it killed him to do so.

"I'm cutting my bonds with the legendary Pokémon after they let the evets of Pallet Town happen. I'm not severing my bond with you though Manaphy, but I will be weakening it so Arceus won't be able to use you to get to me. We probably won't be able to talk anymore but if you're in real trouble call for me and I will immediately head to you. There's one thing I want you to do though Manaphy since you won't have me with you anymore." Ash paused as the next words felt like ash in his mouth.

"What papa?"

"I-I want you to go stay with mama. With our bond weakened you'll need to have her support and I know you'll be happy with her."

Manaphy's eyes widened a little as he processed what his papa had said, even though Manaphy was young he knew that this must have been very his papa after what happened in Pallet Town. Manaphy wanted to go with papa, it was obvious to him that papa needed him now more than mama did but Manaphy understood why his papa had done this and reluctantly nodded

"Okay papa, I love you." Manaphy said tearfully.

"I love you too Manaphy." Ash replied, trying to maintain his composure.

The pair shared one last hug and then Manaphy faded away leaving Ash alone in the void. With Manaphy gone Ash fell to his knees as a few tears trickled down his cheeks, he hadn't wanted Manaphy to see just how much doing this and telling him to go to May would hurt him. The truth was doing it felt almost as painful as the loss of his mother, he'd told someone he loved to go be with someone who he hated since she had abandoned him in his darkest hour. Ash just hoped Manaphy would be happy with May, he was certain he would be but still swore to make May suffer if anything happened to Manaphy.

* * *

After a few minutes Ash gathered himself and got ready to face the final legendary Pokémon he would have to confront. With every legendary apart from Manaphy now removed from his life there was only one remaining, the God Pokémon himself. Severing the bond to Arceus wouldn't be quite so easy though, he would have to travel to The Hall of Origins and confront him face to face.

That wasn't something Ash really wanted to do but he had no choice in the matter, so he called once again upon his powers as The Chosen One and appeared in the Hall of Origins. Ash sighed and took a moment to calm his nerves and then walked up to the table to confront Arceus who immediately appeared in his place at the head of the table.

"I've been expecting you."

"Well you're the God Pokémon so that's not exactly a big fuckin surprise. You know why I'm here too."

"Chosen One please reconsider your actions."

"I am no longer your Chosen One, I refuse to be used as a pawn in your little game anymore. I'm done with you, I'm done with the other legendary Pokémon and I'm done with all the bullshit that comes with you. So, leave me the hell alone!" Ash yelled as he started walking towards the portal that would take him home.

"Your mother's death is my fault; the others should not be punished for my mistake."

"Tell me Arceus, how hard did they try to save my mother when you didn't think it was necessary? How many of them tried to help me when I was framed for those crimes?"

"They do not have the authority to overrule my decisions, some tried but I quickly overruled them. I am just like anyone else, I make mistakes and that day I made several that cost you dearly and for that I apologise. I beg of you do not punish my children for my failure."

Ash stopped in place as he thought over Arceus' words, it was odd to hear the God Pokémon take the blame for something especially something of this magnitude. It didn't change Ash's mind, but it did make him smirk as he had made Arceus feel guilty and take responsibility for an evil atrocity committed in the world he created. The fact that he had the God Pokémon begging was just an added bonus that made it feel so much sweeter.

"I don't want to do this to them Arceus because you're right they shouldn't have to suffer for your mistakes, but I understand you now Arceus, if I were to maintain my bond with the others and still hold the title of Chosen One you would use them against me. The innocent ones like Latias, Victini and a few others would all be used to try and get me to side with you again. You would manipulate them to get to me and to be honest it would probably work."

"You're hurting my children for no reason Ash, I beg of you reform the bonds before something terrible happens to them that could endanger the world. Do you want to be responsible for a great evil taking control of them?"

"That's rich coming from you considering what brought all this about. All of this is your fault Arceus and mine for allowing myself to be brainwashed by you into believing that a kid should be out protecting the world. Here's a tip Arceus, next time you pick a Chosen One go and find someone ready to deal with the bullshit that comes with the job description, not a kid trying to become a Pokémon Master."

With everything he wanted to say off his chest, Ash left before Arceus could respond, he had no interest in hearing whatever the God Pokémon would say to him. No longer would he allow his fate to be controlled, he would live his life how he wanted and not concern himself with being a servant to anyone. It suddenly felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from Ash's shoulders as he was no longer carrying the fate of the world. After years of doing as Arceus said he felt free and able to focus solely on the things he cared about for once.

Meanwhile, throughout the regions various legendary Pokémon were collapsing as they felt their bond to The Chosen One be painful cut like a blade piercing their very souls. They knew what this meant though, Ash was giving up on being The Chosen One and abandoning them, some of the legendary Pokémon started to resent the boy a bit for throwing them away like this however most were not surprised. They had been expecting Ash to go his own way after they did nothing to save his mother, it didn't make the pain hurt and less though, if anything it made it that much worse.

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	6. A Traitors Regret & Shadow Pokemon

As always thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter and will enjoy the rest of the story.

Hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

It had been a few months since the events in Pallet Town transpired and there wasn't a trace of Ash in any of the six main regions leading a lot of people to end their own personal hunts for the young man and leaving it to the authorities. This included his former travelling companions who had all gone back to their own lives, the exceptions were Gary, Misty, Serena and Bonnie.

The former pair were still in Pallet Town, Gary was still mourning the loss of his grandfather while Misty had remained it Pallet to comfort him. Serena and Bonnie on the other hand were still exploring the Kalos region for any sign of Ash, Clemont had wanted to help but his commitments to his role as a gym leader made that impossible.

Everyone else had travelled back to their home regions, Brock, Cilan and obviously Clemont had returned to their positions as gym leaders. Dawn had started participating in the Sinnoh contests again with the goal of winning this time. Iris was back in her village and growing her skills as a dragon user. Finally, May and Max were together in Hoenn, preparing for May's second shot at the Hoenn contest circuit and Max's first attempt at the Hoenn league. Although these plans were soon thrown into chaos as a small blue Pokémon flew through the window and landed in May's arms.

"Mama!"

"Manaphy?"

"Love you mama." Manaphy said affectionately.

"I love you too Manaphy but what are you doing here? I thought you had to stay at the Sea Temple."

Manaphy grinned and shook his head at May, he then started to tell her why he was here starting with his meeting with papa. After returning to his body Manaphy started saying his goodbyes to the Pokémon living here, he would miss them but the prospect of living with mama was so exciting. As he left the Sea Temple and said farewell to all the Phione and all the other Pokémon that lived nearby, Manaphy felt a tremor as all the other legendary Pokémon cried out in pain.

It was clear to the young Pokémon that his papa had cut his bonds with everyone apart from him which made Manaphy feel happy and at the same time sad. The latter because the others were hurting now because of the bond being severed and the former because despite everything that had happened papa had chosen to keep their bond, albeit a weakened version, but they still had it.

As soon as he was out in the fresh air Manaphy looked around and tried to sense where his mama was right now but Manaphy's bond with May was weak after all these years apart. All he could feel was a weak pulse to the east which would lead towards Hoenn, so Manaphy had no choice but to follow and hope that he would find May soon.

Just as his papa had said Manaphy could feel himself getting weaker because their bond had been weakened and he knew that he needed to find May soon or he could be in big trouble. So, he headed to Petalburg since he knew that was where she lived hoping that his mama would be there.

As he finished the story Manaphy looked at his mama and at Max seeing confused expressions on their faces which left him feeling confused as well since he didn't know why they looked so shocked. Everything was really simple, so he wasn't sure what there was to be confused about.

"So, Ash told you to come stay with me?" May finally stated.

"Yes."

"Do you know where Ash is?" Max queried.

"Papa's safe." Manaphy replied.

"No Manaphy you need to tell me where he is. Papa is a bad man, he did some very bad things." May insisted.

"Papa not bad, papa not do bad things in Pallet. Bad person pretend to be papa and do bad things to people in Pallet Town. We saw on table, Arceus no help which made papa mad. Papa broke bonds with every legendary Pokémon except me because we no help him. Papa bond is weak but still there, can't talk with papa now because bond weak. Papa tell me to be with you to make up for weak bond."

May and Max had just been told a lot of information in thirty seconds and the former especially was having a little trouble comprehending it all, so she decided to focus on Ash since he was apparently innocent. May looked into Manaphy's eyes wondering whether Ash had done something to force Manaphy to say this, but May knew that had that been the case Manaphy would have told her. This meant that she had betrayed Ash when he needed his friends by his side, she also realised that this proved that Serena, Clemont and Bonnie were right too since after giving it some thought they had taken Ash's side.

"Ash told you to stay with me? After what I did?" May mumbled guiltily.

"I think papa love me more than he no like you." Manaphy stated.

"Then papa must love you a lot Manaphy because he must hate me." May replied.

Manaphy didn't like that word, even saying not like had felt wrong to Manaphy but he was pretty sure that his mama was right. The legendary Pokémon had felt the emotions Ash had before he cut the bonds and they knew just how much he didn't like his old friends now. it saddened Manaphy to feel to much anger and bad feelings from his papa which was why he wanted to go with papa and try to help him. Sadly, Arceus had made that impossible, but he was still more than happy to be with his mama now.

"What we do now?" Manaphy asked.

"We find papa and I try to make amends for what I did to him. So, where is he?" May asked.

"Papa secret, papa safe."

"You don't know where he is, do you Manaphy?" Max asked.

Manaphy shook his head, when he'd met Ash in the void, he'd been unable to sense where Ash was and now that their bond was so weak, he had no chance of locating him with their bond. May sighed in annoyance at herself mostly but also at Ash for being so good at hiding, he'd had people scouring the regions for almost three months now and no one could find a trace of him. All May could keep doing was keep searching and hope that Manaphy may be able to pick up some faint trace of Ash somewhere.

First of all, though she had to tell the others what Manaphy had told her and see if they'd help, she was sure Gary wouldn't be swayed by Manaphy's word which meant Misty and probably Brock wouldn't be either. Max obviously believed Manaphy though so she would have his help at least.

Dawn was unpredictable, part of May was sure the Sinnoh coordinator would standby Ash but a larger part of her told her that Dawn's adamance of Ash's guilt wouldn't be changed by Manaphy.

Iris and Cilan were never particularly close to Ash and to be honest May was sure the feeling was mutual which she could understand, she'd never liked Iris' bitchyness and Cilan was like an incredibly irritating version of Brock. There was little chance of them helping and to be honest she didn't really want their assistance.

Then there was the Kalosians, Serena, Bonnie and Clemont who had all been quick to back Ash after he had left, and they had had some time to consider it. They would obviously believe her, but would they help her? May doubted it, the Kalos trio had been quickly ostracised from the group which none of them had complained about as they had no interest in interacting with people who didn't believe in Ash.

Regardless of the hatred the Kalosians have for her after what happened in Pallet, May knew what she had to do now, she had to go to Kalos and hope that Serena, Bonnie and Clemont would help her find Ash. Her only hope was that cared for Ash more than they hated her for betraying him.

* * *

Back in Orre

With the ties to his past severed ash through himself deep into his training in preparation for his goal of destroying Team Cipher. All the Pokémon who were with him had readily and eagerly agreed to the training regime, strength, speed and stamina were what Ash had chosen to prioritise. Sure, having a good selection of moves would be invaluable however all those moves would be useless if the Pokémon were too tired from previous battles or too slow to use them.

Ash joined in on the training as well for a couple of reasons, the first was to show that he wouldn't ask them to do anything that he wouldn't do himself and to make sure he could defend himself if his Pokémon were unable too. The most intense part for Ash had been his first sessions with Greninja who had taken it upon himself to give Ash some hand to hand combat training.

About two weeks after Ash first started his new training regime, he was about to go out for another day but was stopped in the garage by Professor Krane, Lily, Michael, and Jovi. It wasn't unusual for one of them to query where he would be training today, to wish him luck, hug him if it was Jovi or offer to join and train with him in Michael's case. However, it was odd to see all of them at once and judging by the look on Professor Krane's face he had something else on his mind.

"Hey, Rorschach I know you want to go training again but could you do me a favour first?" Professor Krane asked.

"Sure, I can afford to miss a day of training, what do you need?"

"I need you to head to Gateon Port and pick up some parts we need for the purification chamber. Usually I'd send Michael on his own but with Team Cipher out there I don't think it's safe for him to go alone." Professor Krane asked.

"I agree, I'll head there with him immediately."

"Jovi wants to come too!" Jovi announced.

Jovi looked up at everyone pleadingly eventually turning her gaze to Ash and giving him a look that would turn even a heart of stone to mush. Ash just looked at Lily it wasn't his decision at the end of the day, Jovi is Lily's daughter after all. A worried looked formed on Lily's face, she was obviously concerned about letting Jovi go anywhere since she had no Pokémon and thus no way of protecting herself. Finally, Lily appeared to have made her decision as she final knelt in front of Jovi and made sure the young girl was looking at her.

"Okay Jovi you can go, but you have to promise me that you will stay with Rorschach at all times and never leave his sight."

"Jovi promises."

"Don't worry Lily, no harm will come to Jovi, I promise you that."

"I know Rorschach."

The trust in Lily's voice took Ash aback a little, he hadn't expected to be trusted so deeply by these people so quickly. After putting his mask on Ash got onto the motorcycle with Jovi and Michael sitting in the side car and started driving towards Gateon Port. Ash was grateful that these Orre vehicles practically drove themselves since he'd had no lessons in driving prior to his arrival here.

In the past Ash had never needed to learn how to drive since he'd either walked or had a Pokémon fly him anywhere, he needed to go. Although neither of those seemed to be a choice in the harsh landscapes of Orre, the sandstorms made flight almost impossible and the idea of walking through the deserts didn't hold any appeal to anyone.

* * *

As they got close to Gateon Port Ash pulled into the parking area closest to the port, many vehicles weren't allowed in the port, this motorcycle included, so they had to park on the outskirts and enter the town on foot. After parking up Ash, Michael and Jovi started the short trek to Gateon Port when suddenly a pair of Team Cipher goons jumped out blocking the path. They immediately sent out their Pokémon which comprised of a Poochyena, a Teddiursa, a Zubat and a Koffing who were all preparing to attack. Almost on instinct Ash pushed Jovi and Michael behind him to protect them as Pikachu leapt off his shoulder and got ready for battle.

"Stay back you two, I'll handle this."

"Let me and Eevee help you Rorschach."

Ash could see a lot of the same characteristics in Michael that he had when he was younger and that was something Ash wanted to protect for as long as possible. The first way of doing that was by not letting him get involved with Team Cipher unless it was absolutely crucial. On the other hand, this was just a couple of goons who would cause no problems and it was obvious that Michael was going to help with or without his permission.

"Alright you can help, does Eevee know any ranged attacks?"

"Yes, he can use Swift."

"Good, I want you to use Swift to cover Pikachu."

"Yes! Let's go Eevee!" Michael yelled as he threw his Pokéball.

The Eevee belonging to Michael burst out of his ball and stood alongside Pikachu, he already knew why he'd been called out as he recognised the outfits their opponents were wearing, and Pikachu's cheeks were crackling threateningly. Eevee felt a little in awe of Pikachu, he'd watched the mouse train and admired the power the small mouse had which had influenced his decisions on what he wanted to evolve into.

"All of you Tackle that rat apart from you Teddiursa, you use Shadow Blitz." The members of Team Cipher instructed.

"Dodge them Pikachu and hit Teddiursa with Iron Tail."

"And Eevee use Swift to cover Pikachu." Michael added.

The quartet of Pokémon launched themselves at Pikachu who had no problem dodging them as they were struck by the Swift attack from Eevee. Ash watched the Teddiursa carefully and knew it must be one of the Shadow Pokémon he had been told about, it had a dark aura surrounding it and the move it was using looked nothing like any other move he'd ever seen. The Teddiursa tried desperately to hit Pikachu but the mouse was far too quick for the bear which made it faceplant as it tried to charge him. this was made worse for Teddiursa as Pikachu drove his hardened tail down on his head causing the bear to let out an enraged and pained roar.

"Pikachu use Discharge!" Ash suddenly commanded.

Pikachu quickly charged up some electricity and released it in all directions shocking all four of his opponents making them all cry out in pain and back away. All four Pokémon were on their last legs, the irritating barrage of stars from the Eevee combined with the powerful electrical attack from Pikachu had left them all badly damaged and exhausted.

"Alright we've toyed with them enough, Pikachu use Volt Tackle!"

A smirk crept onto Pikachu's face as it had been so long since he had last used Volt Tackle, he sprinted towards the four weakened Pokémon as an aura of electricity surrounded him. The quartet watched fearfully as the mouse charged towards them and even though their minds were screaming at them to dodge, they couldn't move a muscle.

Seconds later the battle was over as Pikachu hit all four of them with his Volt Tackle leaving them unconscious on the ground. Pikachu winced from the recoil damage but then quickly shot a Thunder Wave at the now fleeing members of Team Cipher which paralysed them both leaving them twitching on the ground.

With Team Cipher defeated for now Ash turned his attention to the Teddiursa. It was Ash's first glimpse of a Shadow Pokémon and it was disturbing to say the least, everything about it was wrong and Ash knew that he had made the right decision when he agreed to help destroy Team Cipher. Ash looked closely at the Teddiursa and was tempted to capture it for himself however there were a few problems with that. The biggest one being that he didn't have the time to train in preparation for his journey to destroy Team Cipher and focus on purifying a Pokémon since the Chamber hadn't been completed yet.

However, he knew that he couldn't just leave Teddiursa for some random person to find, an idea suddenly came to mind as he watched Michael kneel and check over the Teddiursa's injuries despite the way it was growling and glaring at him. Ash took out a Pokéball and then offered it to Michael, unlike himself the boy would have the time to focus on helping Teddiursa and when he left the lab to take on Team Cipher it would be up to Michael to keep everyone safe.

"You take Teddiursa." Ash said to Michael.

"No, I can't, you need all the Pokémon you can get if you're going to stop Team Cipher."

"True but when I leave to take on Team Cipher you will be the only one at the lab to protect your mother, Jovi and Professor Krane if someone chooses to attack the lab again. I think it would be wise for you to have at least two Pokémon to battle them with."

"When you put it that way, I guess you're right."

Michael took the Pokéball and tapped Teddiursa with it which captured the small bear Pokémon easily, with a new Pokémon on his team Michael smiled and placed the ball safely in his pocket. He knew that it would take a while to help Teddiursa, but he was determined to do so.

"Come on, we've got to get those parts for Professor Krane." Ash stated.

"Yeah! Jovi will lead the way." the young girl exclaimed as she charged into Gateon Port.

Ash chuckled and shook his head as he watched Jovi run ahead, he glanced at Michael and then started walking after Jovi knowing that the girl wouldn't have gone too far without him. Ash soon broke out into a sprint though as he heard Jovi scream in terror.

"Mister Rorschach, help!"

Ash arrived on the scene seeing a man who was at least a foot taller than him and well over one hundred pounds heavier looming over Jovi with angered look on his face. The girl was crawling away and apologising for running into him however the man continued prowling after her.

"Hey! Get the hell away from her!" Ash yelled.

This got the attention of both the man and Jovi; the latter immediately ran over to Ash and hid behind him knowing that he would keep her safe. Ash gave a small one-armed hug to Jovi and then placed himself between Jovi and the man who had stormed over to him. Despite the obvious size difference Ash showed no fear even as he was forced to look up due to the man's size.

"You have no right bullying a small child like that." Ash stated angrily.

"That little brat ran into me."

"Which you would have hardly felt, and she apologised for doing so. Tell me is it the steroids that make you act like an asshole or does your tiny dick make you insecure?"

"Right that's it I'll shut you up for good with my Shadow Pokémon. Go, Zangoose!"

Ash's eyes widened a little at the mention of another Shadow Pokémon and knew he had to free it from this guy. As the normal type appeared Ash felt sorry for the guys Zangoose as he knew that it had clearly suffered and was deep in the holds of the shadows. With a quick nod to his right Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder once again and prepared himself for another battle.

However, before Pikachu or Zangoose could act a blue aura surrounded Zangoose and he was sent flying into a building, the impact knocking him out immediately. Ash looked to see who could have done that and saw an Alakazam stood in front of two taller men who appeared to be the bodyguards of the shorter men. The man who had terrified Jovi soon shared the same fate as his Zangoose and Ash saw his chance to free the Shadow Pokémon.

He quickly broke the Pokéball Zangoose had been trapped in and tapped him with one of his own Pokéballs, immediately catching it before anyone walked by and questioned what he was doing. Ash picked up the Pokéball and pocketed it for himself, while he was okay giving one Shadow Pokémon to Michael, he did not want to burden the boy with two. With a sigh Ash turned his attention to the people who had intervened and could see the shorter man trying to put up a friendly front but was clearly frustrated by something which made Ash suspicious.

"Your help was unneeded but regardless of that thank you sir." Ash said politely.

"Tis fine, we could not stand by and allow a grown man to bully a small child. I am Mr Verich, should you need any more help you can find me in the Krabby Club." The short man replied.

Ash merely nodded and turned away from this Mr Verich, so he was facing Michael and Jovi. The latter immediately hugged Ash tightly and he could feel her shaking so he crouched down and hugged the girl close to him internally cursing himself for allowing her to run off like that. An all too familiar feeling of guilt filled Ash as he thought back to the promise he'd made to Lily. Ash then pulled back at little, so he could look at Jovi but still held her comfortingly.

"It's okay Jovi, I'll keep you safe." Ash promised.

"Can Jovi hold your hand?" the girl pleading as she wiped away the tears in her eyes.

"Sure, come on let's go get those parts."

A small smile graced Ash's face beneath his mask as he broke the hug with Jovi and stood up offering his hand to her which she quickly grabbed tightly. A bright smile appeared on Jovi's face as she held onto his hand and started dragging him towards the parts shop with Michael close behind. It amazed Ash that the girl was able to do a complete one eighty on her emotions just because of a simple action like this, he just hoped that Jovi would be able to keep that trait for as long as possible.

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	7. Consequences

Thanks for the support you've shown so far guys, I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses.

There is a poll on my profile so if you've got a few minutes spare go check it out and vote on your choice.

* * *

Jovi, Ash and Michael walked into the Machine Parts Shop, the incident from moments ago all but forgotten by the former however who was bright and cheery as usual. By contrast Ash and Michael were still a little wary after what had happened mere minutes ago and were on guard just in case anyone else tried anything. As soon as the shopkeeper saw the trio enter, he perked up and quickly walked out from behind the desk. He held his hand out to Michael and shook the young man's hand and then gave Jovi a quick hug.

"Ah Michael, Jovi, a pleasure it is to see you both again. And who is your new friend?" The shopkeeper asked as he fixed his gaze on the masked man.

"This is Rorschach, he saved Professor Krane from being kidnapped by Team Cipher." Michael replied.

"Well any man that saves the good professor is alright in my books. I am Makan if you ever find yourself needing something, I'm the man to come to. So, I'm guessing you're here for the parts Professor Krane ordered, it's about time someone came to collect them. Perr go get the parts please."

A younger man wearing a red beanie nodded and then shuffled over to the vault while Makan walked back behind the counter and picked up a box from behind it and placed it on the counter. Jovi curiosity once again got the better off her and jumped up onto the counter, so she could peer into the box and see what was so interesting. To her surprise there was just some rocks in their which made a confused expression quickly form on her face which caused Makan to chuckle at her antics.

"Inquisitive as always, aren't you Jovi? Well it's actually a gift for young Michael, I've found every evolution stone you could ever want to evolve that Eevee of yours. For example, the Water Stone could…"

"I want a Thunderstone please!" Michael yelled.

Everyone in the parts shop jumped at Michaels outburst causing Jovi to slip off the counter, the girl would have crashed to the floor had Ash not reacted quickly and caught Jovi who giggled and hugged him. Ash stiffened for a moment and then gave Jovi a small hug before putting her on the ground. After what had happened in Pallet Town, Ash had been determined to not let anyone else get close, but he could already feel himself warming up to the new people he'd met. Jovi was innocent and sweet, Michael seemed to idolise him and Lily and Professor Krane had already shown how much they trusted him. Ash was just scared of letting people into his heart and getting hurt again.

"Thank you, mister Rorschach." Jovi said sweetly.

"It's okay Jovi. So, Michael, don't you want to consider the other evolutionary stones?" Ash asked.

"Nope, me and Eevee agreed that becoming a Jolteon would be the best idea."

"Really? Why's that?" Ash queried.

"We erm, we saw how your Pikachu was able to stop those Team Cipher kidnappers and well we want to be able to do that to protect everyone at the lab when you're not there."

For the first time since he arrived Ash saw Michael and Eevee looking a little bashful. Once again Ash found himself seeing traits in Michael similar to his own when he was younger, he just hoped that he could prevent Michael from having to suffer the same experiences he has done. Eevee suddenly jumped off Michael's shoulders onto the counter and touched the Thunder Stone, he let out a cry as he shone white and evolved into a Jolteon. The electric Eeveelution leapt into Michaels arms and nuzzled him as Michael hugged Jolteon tightly.

"Congratulations Jolteon, Pikachu and I would be happy to help you gain control of your electrical powers once we get back to the lab. If you'd like us too that is." Ash stated.

Both Jolteon and Michael nodded emphatically, excited at the prospect of training with Rorschach and Pikachu. They'd been trying on almost a daily basis to get Rorschach to let them train with him but prior to today he had always refused. The reason he'd given every time was that it would be too dangerous which considering the areas, he was training in was probably true.

"Well that's settled then."

Perr suddenly closed the vault with a slam making everyone jump in surprise, the young man carried the last of the parts to the counter, placing several boxes there. While he didn't know what any of the parts did Ash was sure that these would be used to finally complete the Purification Chamber and the Snag Machine. Although judging by how many tiny parts there were in the boxes both the Purification Chamber and the Snag Machine were nowhere near ready which was fine as it gave Ash more time to train for his upcoming battle with Team Cipher.

"Take the parts out back and put them on the trailer for them Perr please." Makan requested.

"Would you and Jovi mind helping Perr load up the trailer? I have to speak to Makan about something."

"Okay Rorschach, come on Jovi."

Michael picked up one of the smaller boxes while Jovi wanted to help out, so she picked up a few parts out of a box and carried them with her. The siblings left the building followed closely by Jolteon who was on the alert for any danger. Perr then picked up the largest of the boxes and took it outside to the trailer out back leaving Makan and Ash alone in the Parts Shop. The former was wondering what the mask wearing man wanted with him while the latter was hoping that Makan would be able to obtain a few items he wanted for his assault on Team Cipher.

"So how can I help you Rorschach?"

"Tell me Makan, you said you're the man to come to for anything I may need, so would you be able to obtain any mega stones and a device to activate them? The ideal stones would be Beedrillite and Pidgeotite, but I'll have any you can find, and I'll pay you a good price for them too."

"Hmm usually I would say no to getting such rare and powerful items for someone I barely know, however you saved Professor Krane from Team Cipher, so I'll see what I can do. It'll take three months for a shipment to arrive so come back then and I'll have something for you. In fact, I had a shipment arrive a few days ago from Kalos with a couple of passengers who had snuck on board."

Makan reached under the desk and pulled out a pair of Pokéballs, he then opened the Pokéballs revealing a Helioptile and an Meowstic. Ash watched as the former cocked its head as it scanned the room while the latter turned her gaze towards dim, oddly the Meowstic lacked the usually emotionless stare that the species are known for.

"I have no use for these two and I'm in no position to send them home. I'd rather they go to someone who knows who to take care of Pokémon."

"Do you two want to go back to Kalos?" Ash asked.

The pair of Kalos Pokémon shook their heads, they had had to work hard to sneak on to the boat that had brought them to this strange land, and they had no intention of returning to Kalos. The response from Meowstic and Helioptile was a relief to Ash, he didn't want Pokémon that to be forced to join him. Of course, he now had to make them aware of the danger they'd be in if they joined him.

"Do you want to come with me and get strong so we can stop bad guys? It'll be dangerous, these people have very powerful Pokémon that have been corrupted by Team Cipher."

The Pokémon looked at each other and then back to Ash giving him a nod to show they agreed with both then extending a limb out to Ash who shook both offered limbs. Makan handed the Pokéballs to the masked man who returned the Kalos Pokémon and slipped the Pokéballs into his pocket.

"Well I guess that's decided then, come back in three months' time and my next shipment will arrive." Makan stated.

"Thank you, farewell."

Ash shook Makan's hand and then walked out of the Parts Shop, picking up the last box of parts as he left. That went far better than Ash had expected, given the seclusion the other regions left Orre in, he'd assumed that they would have never heard of Mega Evolution. Then again Makan probably had contacts in every region and even the smaller island clusters like the Orange Archipelago. It didn't really matter though, all that mattered was that there was now a possibility of getting those Mega Stones to give him an edge in his future battles with Team Cipher.

* * *

Once Ash got to the trailer that was parked around the back of the Parts Shop, Perr took the box from Ash and placed it securely onto the trailer next to a few other larger items Ash hadn't seen in the shop. They were obviously far too big to be kept in the shop but that made him wonder what Professor Krane needed them for considering there was no way they could be part of the Purification Chamber or the Snag Machine.

Ash shrugged and decided to ask Professor Krane about it later as he was curious on what else the Professor could be working on in secret. With the parts now secure Ash picked up one of the bars that attached to the trailer and started pulling it down the street with some difficulty, Michael, Pikachu and even Jovi pitched in, but it was still hard going. Part of Ash was tempted to send out Greninja to give them a hand but didn't really want to reveal the Kalos Pokémon unless he had too. Suddenly Perr ran up and grabbed the other main bar forcing Michael, Jovi and Pikachu to move away. With Perr's help it was much easier and they made easy progress down the street.

"Thanks for the help." Ash said.

The beanie wearing boy merely grunted and continued to haul the trailer down the street with Ash, the group quickly made their way out of Gateon Port and arrived at the parking lot. They attached the trailer to the motorcycle and after making sure it was secure Perr started heading back towards Gateon Port. However, Ash caught up with him, stopping him before he could get too far and then handed some money to Perr who gave Ash an appreciative nod and then started walking towards Gateon Port again.

"Strange kid." Ash commented. "Come on let's get these parts to Professor Krane."

Michael and Jovi got into the sidecar while Ash sat on the motorcycle and started driving them home making sure not to accidentally dislodge the trailer on the uneven roadways. As he drove back to the lab, Ash sighed as thought about his decision to cut his ties with all the Legendary Pokémon in probably the most brutal way possible. Did he regret his decisions? Not really, he regretted the execution of cutting ties with them and he regretted abandoning Mewtwo and Latias in particular but in hindsight he had been a lot happier in his new life. He knew that was a selfish way of looking at things, but he'd spent eight years being unselfish and getting nothing in return expect pain, misery and no help from those he had helped countless times.

Besides Ash was sure that Arceus had found himself a new Chosen One now to take up the mantle he had given up and all Ash felt was pity for whoever had been tasked with that. That person had no idea the pain, the misery and the heartbreak that they would be subjected to because of their choice to become the Chosen One.

* * *

Contrary to Ash's belief Arceus had not found a new Chosen One since he was not, in fact, looking for one which had confused many of his children and made Mewtwo even more suspicious. None of that mattered to Arceus though, he had his plans in place and it was now a case of waiting for his plans to pay off. It was a gamble but the payoff would be huge.

Arceus decided to look over on some of his children and see how they were coping as many of them were still suffering the effects of their separation from Ash. The mains ones being Manaphy who was a little upset that the bond with Ash was weakened now but that was countered by the joy he had from being with his mama. The bigger concern was Latias who had fallen into deep depression over the loss of the one she loved. The state of his daughter left the god Pokémon feeling completely powerless for once, there was nothing he could do for Latias since Ash hated him for not saving his mother back in Pallet Town.

Arceus couldn't blame the young man for that but it angered him that Ash was making the other legendary Pokémon suffer because of his mistake. It was the only thing Arceus hadn't accounted for in his plans. He'd been certain that Ash would give up on being the chosen one but would remain bonded to the legendary pokemon to at least keep them safe. Of course, Ash had, in fact, severed his ties with all of them and made it quite clear that he wanted to be left alone from now on.

A shudder suddenly ran down Arceus' spine as he felt a disturbance coming from the islands around Shamouti. The area immediately appeared on the viewing table displaying Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos all tied up and desperately fighting against their bonds. A vortex of air then shot out of nowhere and destroyed the machine dragging the legendary birds away. The view switched to Lugia who had appeared and was now laying waste to the attackers but Arceus could see that the loss of Ash's bond had weakened the mighty guardian.

The battle soon swung against Lugia as a series of bindings like the ones that had ensnared Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos wrapped around Lugia and shocked him. Lugia struggled but he was too weak, with his bond to Ash severed his power was severely hampered. Had the bond with Ash still existed he could have fought out and freed himself and the legendary birds, now all he could do was crash to the ground and allow himself to be captured by their attackers.

Arceus watched on once again powerless to do anything, as the quartet was dragged away Arceus could watch no more and the viewing table went blank. As the reality of the situation sank in Arceus looked down sadly as a single tear fell from his eye. This was not part of the plan but sadly it now would be, he thought he'd been prepared to make sacrifices and live with them though watching this made him doubt that now.

"I'm sorry my children but sacrifices must be made for the greater good."

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	8. The Road To Purification

Thanks for the support guys, I appreciate it.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

As Ash parked the motorcycle outside the laboratory a chill ran down his spine, he didn't know what it was, but he knew that somewhere something was very wrong. It was a feeling he'd gotten in the past when he had been The Chosen One and it usually meant that a legendary Pokémon was in trouble.

After taking a moment to guess what it could be Ash merely shrugged it off, whatever it was probably wasn't his problem now. It was now up to someone else to be looking out for the world and being Arceus' little lapdog, he had no doubt that Arceus had found some poor kid to take his place. Ash was surprised at how easily he could think this and at how he had settled into his new life.

To be completely honest with himself, Ash had expected severing the ties with the legendary Pokémon would take a while to get over but apart from Manaphy and in a way Mewtwo he really didn't feel anything about splitting from the others. It only reinforced Ash's belief that he'd done the right thing by giving up his title of Chosen One. Although he did miss being able to talk to Manaphy, but he was sure that one day their paths would cross again. A tap on the shoulder dragged Ash out of his thoughts and he quickly snapped his gaze to Jovi who was grinning at him from the sidecar.

"Sorry I was a little distracted there, um, Jovi go inside and get Professor Krane. Me and Michael will start unloading all the parts." Ash said earning a cheer from Jovi and a groan from Michael

Without wasting a second Jovi jumped out of the sidecar and ran into the lab giddily leaving Ash and Michael to start unpacking the various boxes they had picked up from Makan. Ash gave Michael one of the lighter ones while he picked up a heavier one and the pair started walking towards the lab.

"Did you mean it Rorschach? When you said you'd train with me and Jolteon?" Michael asked.

"Of course, Michael, I am a man of my word and I want you and Jolteon to get stronger so that when I leave to fight Team Cipher you will be able to keep your mother, Jovi and Professor Krane safe. Although we'll have to get your mothers permission first, I may want to train you, but I don't want to incur your mother's wrath."

"Trust me Rorschach nobody would want to." Michael replied.

That drew a chuckle out of Ash and Michael, they quickly composed themselves though as they entered the lab and placed the first couple of boxes in front of Professor Krane who quickly started inspecting every part in the boxes. Ash and Michael went back outside to start bringing the rest of the parts inside and were joined by a few of the scientists. Between them they were able to bring in the rest of the parts which like the first two boxes were quickly checked over by Professor Krane.

"Excellent it seems that everything is here, we'll be able to finish the Purification Chamber and the Snag Machine with these parts. It'll take a while, but we'll be able to save those Shadow Pokémon soon."

The scientists and Professor Krane started taking the parts with them either to the room with the Purification Chamber or the Snag Machine leaving Ash, Michael, Jovi and Lily in the lobby. There was pure relief on the face of Lily as she saw that the trio had returned seemingly in one piece and with the parts.

"Did everything go smoothly." Lily asked.

"Yeah, pretty much apart from when we ran into a couple of Team Cipher goons, we took care of it though and saved a couple of Shadow Pokémon. I've got one and so has Michael."

The end of Ash's response seemed to get Lily's attention, she was a little concerned that Michael was now responsible for a Shadow Pokémon. He'd only had experience handling his Eevee now Jolteon and the Pokémon in the battle simulator, neither of which were really proper preparation for trying to purify Shadow Pokémon. But Rorschach seemed to believe that Michael was ready to do this, so she'd trust his judgement.

"Obviously I need to purify the one I caught. How exactly do I go about that?"

Ash really hoped that Professor Krane or Lily knew a way to purify the Zangoose now in his possession without the Purification Chamber. If there wasn't Ash would have to try and find a way to help Zangoose on his own and considering he had no experience with Shadow Pokémon, he wasn't sure how he'd accomplish that.

"You'll need to head to Agate Village and find Eagun. With his help you will be able to free that Pokémon from the shadows engulfing its heart." Lily replied.

"Alright then I'm going to go to Agate now and get Zangoose purified."

"Okay, I'll call ahead so Eagun knows you're coming and can prepare for your arrival. Go to his home, it is built into a large tree in the centre of the village. You literally can't miss it." Lily replied.

Ash nodded in response, he had been hoping to spend the rest of the day training since it was only just after midday and he could have gotten some good training done. However, the purification of Zangoose was far more important right now. A quick look at a map of Orre showed that Agate Village was reasonably close, so it wouldn't take long to get to the village. With his decision made Ash started walking back outside with Lily, Michael and Jovi close behind him. Ash got back on the motorcycle and then started following the path that would take him to Agate Village.

* * *

A few miles away Ash was travelling towards Agate Village hoping that he could help Zangoose, the problem was he knew nothing about how this purification worked and Lily had basically only said that he would find out when he got to Agate. The journey was longer than he expected but it did give him some time to think about a few things. One of the main ones this time being the Pokémon he had met and not captured or released at some point and whether they had been brainwashed into believing the lies that footage showed. Part of him was sorely tempted to return to the main regions and try to find them, if they still believe in him then some of them might come with him however the other part reminded him of the risk that doing so would involve.

Eventually Ash decided upon returning once he'd trained more and hopefully gotten those Mega Stones and Mega device from Makan. There was no point taking unnecessary risks after all. A voice in Ash's head quickly replied, 'says the guys who wants to singlehandedly take down an evil organisation'. Ash chuckled and then focussed on the road ahead as he saw a village appear in the horizon, a few moments later Ash arrived at Agate Village and parked the motorcycle on the outskirt of the village.

Ash entered the village and looked around at the rather quaint place, it was a little strange seeing such a peaceful little village in Orre but at the same time it was nice to see that even in the harshest of places you can still get such tranquillity. A quick look around the village had Ash wondering how to get to Eagun's home as the entire village seemed like a bit of a maze. Ash could see the house that Eagun apparently lived in, but it seemed like the path to it would lead him around the entire village.

After traipsing through the village for what felt like an eternity Ash was sure that he had travelled through the entire village which had given him a nice view of the waterfall if nothing else as he searched for the correct pathway. Eventually though he arrived at the house that Eagun apparently lived in, Ash just hoped the man was here after all the effort it took getting here. Ash knocked on the door a few times, moments later an elderly woman opened the door and smiled at the masked man.

"Ah you must be Rorschach."

"Yes, but I'm guessing you're not Eagun." Ash replied with a chuckle.

"What if I am?" the person at the door answered sharply.

The response left Ash gawking at the person and feeling incredibly embarrassed for his comment. Ash started desperately trying to apologise but kept stumbling over his words which eventually earned a hearty laugh from the person stood in the doorway. This silenced Ash who looked at the person and suddenly realised that elderly woman had tricked him.

"Calm down dear, Eagun is my husband, I'm Beluh. My husband is waiting for you in the Relic Forest, you can get there by taking the Relic Cave which is beneath the village."

"Alright, thank you Beluh."

"Not a problem dear and good luck." Beluh said as she closed the door.

Ash quickly walked away already trying to forget his first encounter with the woman and hoping she wouldn't tell anyone about the little prank she had played on him. In hindsight it was rather funny, and Ash found himself chuckle a bit at it. He wasn't about to tell anyone about it though otherwise he might as well get a mask saying gullible in big, bold letters.

* * *

After getting lost again several times Ash finally found the entrance to the Relic Cave which looked just as suspicious as you'd expect a hidden cave to be. Ash sighed and walked inside the cave finding it surprisingly well lit, with a shrug Ash looked around and spotted the exit in the distance so he started following the path. Before Ash could get too far though another elderly woman stepped out in front of him blocking the path.

"You may go no further until you defeat me in battle." The woman declared.

"I'm sorry ma'am but I'm on an important quest and I don't have time for these games."

"You must battle us if you are to purify the Pokémon under your control, if you do not then the purification process will fail, and the Pokémon will fall deeper into the shadows."

For just once in his life Ash wished something was as simple as it originally sounded, go and find Eagun to purify Zangoose had now turned into battle potentially crazy cave lady and hope she is telling the truth. With a sigh Ash nodded in agreement, there was no other option really, the woman was blocking the way and her statement did sound legitimate. Then again how many times in the past had he been tricked in a similar way?

"Fine, what are the rules of this battle?"

"Every battle will be a two versus two double battle. You must use your Shadow Pokémon and a Pokémon of your choice, the Shadow Pokémon may not attack though, it will only know Shadow moves which will negate the point of our battle."

"So, basically a handicap match, okay, well Pikachu you're up."

The mouse nodded and leapt off Ash's shoulder, releasing a little bit of electricity from his cheeks to show he was ready for battle. Ash then took the Pokéball containing Zangoose out of his pocket and sent out the Shadow Pokémon who looked around the cave, growling at anything he saw as a dark aura radiated from him. It saddened Ash to see Zangoose like this, no Pokémon should be put in this situation and Ash was determined to save the normal type even if he had to battle every crazy cave person in Orre.

"He is deep in the shadows clutches, it will take much work to open his heart and purify him." the woman stated.

"I know but I will not stop until I have saved him."

The elder was impressed by the determination and conviction in the masked man's voice, it was clear that he would save the Zangoose no matter what it took. For that alone he had already earned her respect although she wasn't about to admit it to the young man, not yet at least. He'd have to beat her in battle before she would do that, so she quickly sent out her Cacnea and Slugma who both stood ready for battle.

"Alright Pikachu hit them both with Thunderbolt."

Pikachu shot a pair of powerful bolts of electricity at Cacnea and Slugma, their eyes widening as they saw the most powerful electric attack, they ever seen headed their way. Before either could do anything to either counter or dodge the move the Thunderbolt hit them both causing them to cry out in pain briefly. A few seconds later the pair collapsed, the barely moving bodies and the swirls in their eyes indicating that they had been knocked out by Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

Ash was surprised that just like that the battle was over, he knew that Pikachu was strong, but he didn't expect it to be over that quick. The simple fact was that neither of the elders Pokémon could stand up to Pikachu's Thunderbolt and they were both quickly returned by the elder.

Ash looked at Zangoose and wondered whether that would be enough to help him or if he would need to battle again but take it easier and make the battle last longer. Once again Ash found himself wishing he knew more about Shadow Pokémon, so he would be better prepared to help them, Ash turned his gaze to the elder who was staring at Zangoose.

"Did that really help?" Ash asked.

"Indeed, the Shadows have drawn back slightly although there is still a long way to go before Zangoose can be purified. Continue through this cavern and you will meet your next opponent."

"Should I draw the battle out next time? Would that help purify him more?"

"No. It would do the opposite and make him fall deeper into the shadows. You must battle to the best of your ability or Zangoose will be lost forever. Now go."

That warning was enough to make Ash know he had to take this seriously and he started heading deeper into the cave. Ash sighed as he walked through the cave, he'd come here to purify an innocent Pokémon and instead he had to do a bunch of random battles with these people. It made Ash wonder why he even came here if all he needed to do was battle with Zangoose on the field doing nothing. Surely this could have been achieved without the journey here. Another sigh escaped Ash as he spotted who he presumed was his next opponent up ahead.

The next opponent proved to be just as easy as the first with both Pokémon once again falling to a single Thunderbolt from Pikachu. The same could be said for the next six trainers as they all were brushed aside by Pikachu leaving Ash wondering whether or not he was actually helping Zangoose. The black aura seemed just as dark and it was still growling almost ferally at anything that moved. The last trainer he could see crouched in front of Zangoose who glared up at him but did little else, the man inspected Zangoose closely and then stood up in front of the masked man.

"Zangoose is close to being purified, he needs only to fight your last opponent here and then his heart will be ready to open. Go forth and battle Eagun."

Ash let out a sigh once again but this time it was in relief rather than disappointment, he was nearly done with this and soon Zangoose would be free and pure. That did make Ash wonder what Zangoose would do after being purified, Ash would love it if the normal type chose to stay with him, but it would be Zangoose's choice and he wouldn't be surprised if Zangoose just wanted some peace after everything he's been through.

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	9. Eeveelution & Purification

Thanks for the support guys, I appreciate it.

If you haven't already go and vote on the poll on my profile which will decide whether or not Pikachu will evolve.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

After a series of one-sided battles all of the trainers in the Relic Cave were finally defeated to Ash and Pikachu's relief. The pair finally exited the cave and spotted an elderly man who Ash assumed must be Eagun stood in front of what appeared to be some kind of shrine. Although he did quickly glance around the area first just in case anyone else was waiting in hiding to battle him as a final test.

After spotting no one Ash walked up to the elder who hadn't moved a muscle since Ash had left the cave. While many would have just seen an old man past his best Ash knew better, eight years of battling and meeting trainers like Agatha and Bertha had taught him that you couldn't judge a trainer based on appearance. It was obvious to Ash that Eagun was still a skilled and powerful trainer who he would have to take seriously especially in a handicap match.

"Are you Eagun?"

"Yes, young man, that would be me and I assume that you are Rorschach, the one that Lily told me about."

"Yes, that's me. So, I was told by the craz... I mean the first lady I met that after I battle with you Zangoose would be purified."

"Not quite young man. The battling helps with the purification, but it is the shrine behind me that holds the power to complete it."

"No offence Eagun but this seems like a very elaborate way to purify a Pokémon."

"It is but until the professor can build his purification chamber there is no other choice. Now let's not waste any more time and get this battled started, you'll find me to be a far tougher opponent than those in the cave." Eagun announced as he sent out a pair of Pikachu.

Ash considered who he should use for this final battle against Eagun, using Pikachu was tempting as he had easily dealt with the others in the cave. However, this meant his best moves wouldn't be very effective but at the same time it would be true for both of Eagun's Pikachu as well and Pikachu had a few special moves they'd been working on.

Eventually Ash pulled a Pokéball belonging to one of the Eevee's out of his pocket and sent out the fox who was immediately ready to battle as soon as she saw her surroundings. All the Pokémon knew that if they weren't in the lab or in a town then they would be battling, the moment she saw the two Pikachu stood there she knew it was time to battle.

"Alright this will be a handicap match Eevee, you up for the challenge?" Ash asked.

A determined glint appeared in Eevee's eyes and she nodded in response, she wanted to prove she was just as capable as the other Pokémon especially her brothers and sisters. Ash liked the confidence she was showing, of the five Eevee siblings, she was the most determined to be strong and protect everyone. With Eevee ready to battle Ash then turned his focus to his opponents. The stance Eagun and his two Pikachu had taken made Ash wonder how strong Eagun's Pikachu were as all three of them exuded a powerful aura.

The people Ash had battled on his way through Relic Cave had spoken of what a great trainer Eagun was in his youth and by the sounds of it he was still a powerful trainer. The prospect of battling a skilled trainer and his powerful Pikachu's thrilled the battler in Ash and he smirked beneath his mask, the thrill of battle would always reside within Ash no matter what happened in his life.

"Let's start off with a Quick Attack." Ash instructed.

"Both of you dodge with Agility."

Eevee shot off like lightning towards the pair of Pikachu aiming herself at the weaker looking one, if she could take him out then she could focus on the stronger one. Just as she was about to slam into the Pikachu, they both vanished from sight as they dashed away, Eevee looked around desperately trying to spot them but they were like a blur around her.

"Swift."

A horde of stars formed around Eevee and were then released in every direction, she knew that at least some of them would hit no matter how fast the Pikachu were running. To her relief the pair cried out in pain as the Swift attack hit and caused them both to stop their agility, they both quickly retook their place in front of their trainer as she did the same with Ash.

"Pika use Discharge

"Jump and use Shadow Ball."

The weaker of the Pikachu released a wave of electricity across the battlefield which didn't bother the stronger Pikachu at all who simply stood there and shrugged it off. As she saw the electricity headed her way Eevee leapt up as Ash asked and quickly formed a Shadow Ball that she launched at the weaker Pikachu. The attack landed and Eevee smirked as she heard the mouse cry out in pain and watched him get knocked back to the ground in front of his trainer.

"Use Thunderbolt Chu."

Eevee had completely forgotten about the other Pikachu as she'd been focussed on the weaker one and thus had no time to react to the powerful Thunderbolt which caused her to let out a pained cry as she crashed to the ground. An angered growl escaped Eevee as she berated herself for forgetting about her second opponent who was incredibly strong if that Thunderbolt was any indication of his power. It wasn't on the same level as the Pikachu stood on Ash's shoulder, but it was strong enough to challenge her.

"Volt Tackle."

By now the weaker Pikachu had gotten back up and was now charging alongside the stronger Pikachu at Eevee whole they were both surrounded by electricity. Eevee pushed herself to her feet just in time for both Pikachu to slam into her and send her flying across the battlefield and landing on the ground heavily in front of Ash.

"Eevee are you okay?"

The fox growled as she slowly and painfully pushed herself back to her feet again, she hadn't been expecting the Pikachu to hit that hard. Ash watched Eevee struggling to stand and realised he had majorly underestimated Eagun, a mistake he could not afford to make in the future when he's battling Team Cipher. There was no way Ash was leaving Eevee out to take more punishment and quickly pulled Greninja's Pokéball out of his pocket.

Eevee saw the Pokéballs in Ash's hands and knew that Ash was about to recall her, but she wasn't done yet, she was going to finish this battle and win it no matter. A power suddenly appeared inside Eevee, she looked deep inside and touched it with a paw and the forest was bathed in a blinding white light. When the light died down everyone, apart from Zangoose who continued his growling, looked at where Eevee had been stood and saw what Eevee had evolved into. Eagun and the Pikachu belonging to him knew what she was, but Ash and Pikachu had no clue what this new Eeveelution was.

Ash and Pikachu looked on in wonder at the new form Eevee had taken, her fur was a beige colour, she was built similarly to Espeon in body type but had long pointed ears that pointed up. She wore an Egyptian headdress and had a long tail with a golden ankh at its tip.

"Whoa, what's that?" Ash asked having never seen this Eeveelution before.

"That young man would be the ground type Eeveelution known as Phaoreon. It is rare to see that Eeveelution nowadays, it is probably why they are not seen outside of the Orre region."

Ash was amazed that there were still Eeveelutions that were unknown to the main regions, he had to wonder whether it was the harshness of Orre that brought out these unknown forms and he wondered whether his other Eevee's would unlock similar evolutions. Those were thoughts for another time, right now he has a battle to win with a now fully healed ground type. Ash slipped Greninja's Pokéball back in his pocket, with Phaoreon on the field there was little Eagun and his pair of Pikachu could do to her.

"Alright Phaoreon let try a Sand Tomb."

A vortex of sand slowly started to gather around both Pikachu, they tried to escape but the sand blocked them off and sent them crashing into one another. In desperation they shot electric attacks at the sand but were unable to break the attack. The power of the vortex of sand suddenly lifted both Pikachu off the ground and then sent them slamming back to earth as Phaoreon showed off her control over the sand.

"Use Magnitude before they can recover."

A quick slam of her forelegs on the ground created a small tremor which left Pikachu stumbling to keep their balance, seeing this Phaoreon added a bit more force, this time successfully knocking them both to the ground. The Pikachu that had been hit earlier by the Shadow Ball was knocked out by the Magnitude leaving the other Pikachu who had pushed himself to his feet, but he was wobbling and now left to fight alone against a fully healed ground type with no real way of causing damage.

"Finish the other Pikachu off with Iron Tail!"

Phaoreon shot off like a rocket as her tail took on a metallic sheen, when she was close to Pikachu she leapt into the air and then slammed her tail down on Pikachu's head. The mouse's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed as Phaoreon returned to her place in front of Ash who immediately bent down and hugged her proudly. To evolve and show such control over her new abilities had really impressed Ash, he always knew the Eevee's had the potential to be great and Phaoreon was showing that.

"You are a remarkable young man with an incredible bond with his Pokémon, you are destined for great things I am sure. Come, let us free Zangoose from the nightmare he is trapped in." Eagun announced.

Ash nodded in agreement and returned both Phaoreon and Zangoose, he placed the formers Pokéball in his pocket while he grasped the latter's tightly. Words couldn't begin to express how relieved Ash was that they would be able to save Zangoose. Seeing the Zangoose in the clutches of the shadows was unnerving and he was sure that he would never get used to seeing a Pokémon in that condition no matter how many times he has to see it in the future.

"So how does this shrine purify Shadow Pokémon?"

"Tis the blessings of Lady Celebi, this place is filled with her purity and that is what drives the taint from the hearts of Shadow Pokémon. Place Zangoose's Pokéball on the shrine and we shall begin."

Ash dubiously placed the Pokéball on the shrine as asked, he wasn't exactly a believer yet, mostly because it revolved around relying on the help of a legendary Pokémon. So, he still had his doubts about whether this would work on not although he was desperately hoping he would be proven wrong. After a few moments of nothing happening Ash was about to call out Eagun on this however he stopped when he saw a green light surrounding the Pokéball. Ash recognised the glow as it was almost identical to the one Celebi had, a few moments passed and then a wave of dark energy radiated from the Pokéball and was absorbed by the green light.

"Zangoose has been purified, you should send him out now. The ordeal will have left him confused." Eagun said.

Ash tentatively took the Pokéball off of the shrine, it seemed a little too good to be true that Celebi's blessing had cured Zangoose so easily but Eagun sounded certain that Zangoose had been purified. Under his breath Ash muttered a plea that Zangoose had indeed been purified and he opened the Pokéball revealing Zangoose. Ash's eyes widened in surprise as he saw that the black aura had faded from Zangoose, he was no longer growling at everything and instead was looking around the area looking totally confused. A sigh of relief escaped Ash and he crouched in front of Zangoose immediately getting his attention.

"Hi Zangoose, I'm sure you're pretty confused right now so I'll make this as simple as I can. A group of evil people known as Team Cipher captured you and turned you into an evil Shadow Pokémon, we worked together to save you and free you from the shadow's clutches. You are now free to do whatever you like, you can live peacefully in a village or you can help me stop Team Cipher from hurting anyone else. The choice is entirely yours."

To prove he meant what he said Ash held out the Pokéball to Zangoose who took it in his paws and stared at it as he processed what he had just heard. The man's story sounded outrageous but Zangoose knew it wasn't, his dreams, if he could call them that, had been dark for so long but now he felt as if he'd been reawakened.

Now he had a choice of what to do and it only took a moment for him to decide what he wanted, revenge. Zangoose wanted revenge against the people who had used him, and he wanted to make sure no other Pokémon had to suffer the way he did. The normal type held his paw out to the man who had saved him and shook his hand, he then tapped the Pokéball allowing himself to be captured once again.

With Zangoose purified and now a member of his extended family Ash thanked Eagun for his help and then left Agate Village. As he got back on the motorcycle Ash decided to head back to the lab, the battles in the cave had been easy but time consuming and it was late in the afternoon now. So, by the time he got to his training area it would almost be time to turn around and return to the lab anyway. It didn't really bother Ash, missing one day's training was no big deal, they'd make it up sooner or later when everyone is pumped up and feels like training harder one day.

As he drove back to the lab Ash kept thinking about the battle with Eagun or more specifically the evolution of Eevee to Phaoreon. This had now gotten Ash wondering what other Eeveelutions there were that he never knew of, it also felt good to know that he possessed a Pokémon that the experts of other regions knew nothing about.

Part of Ash hoped that one day he could return to the main regions and show off what the main regions were missing out on because of their decision to ignore the Orre region. That was a long way in the future though, for now he had to focus on Team Cipher and ensure he didn't show any of the sloppiness or cockiness he had today which had nearly spelt defeat for Eevee.

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	10. Team Miror Appears

Thanks for the support guys, I appreciate it.

If you haven't already go and vote on the poll on my profile which will decide whether or not Pikachu will evolve.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

The five Eevee's will all evolve into "Fakemons" there will be links on my profile showing images of them. Full credit to the artists who created the fakemons.

* * *

By the time Ash returned to the lab night had started to fall, Ash parked the motorcycle and then entered the lab not at all surprised to see that the scientists had by this time left. Ash removed his mask and sighed as he felt cool air on his face, while the mask was good for hiding his identity it wasn't exactly practical in the hot Orre weather. The only consolation was that thanks to the generosity of Lily he had some cooler clothing to wear, Ash was sure he would melt if he had to wear that trench coat during the days. The elevator then opened suddenly gaining Ash's attention and he watched as both Lily and Professor Krane walked out.

"Ah hello Rorschach, we've been wondering when you'd get back." Professor Krane stated.

"Was the purification successful?" Lily asked.

Ash didn't answer, instead he simply grinned and then sent out Zangoose who looked around the room wondering why he had been sent out. With the now former Shadow revealed Professor Krane and Lily crouched in front of him and checked over Zangoose for any signs that the shadows still remained. After a few moments both Lily and Professor Krane stood up with relieved smiles on their faces, it had been so long since they had used the Relic Shrine to purify a Pokémon that they were worried that the blessing of Celebi could have faded.

"Excellent, the Shadows have been completely removed from him." Professor Krane announced.

With the Professor's seal of approval Ash decided it was time for everyone else to meet the newest addition to their family, so he sent out all of his Pokémon. They all looked at Zangoose glad to see that he was no longer trapped by the shadows. Eventually Pikachu was the first to approach Zangoose and held out a paw to him, Zangoose quickly shook it as Pikachu welcomed him to their family.

Zangoose's gaze shot straight to Ash as Pikachu said that, the normal type had never been part of a family since males in general tended to roam alone. Ash looked from Pikachu to Zangoose and guessed that Pikachu had given the former shadow Pokémon the almost traditional welcome to the family.

"Oh, sorry Zangoose, I just see the Pokémon that choose to stay with me as family. I don't like the idea of you belonging to me, if you find you don't like it here then you are free to go whenever you want." Ash turned his focus to the rest of his Pokémon. "Listen I've got to go talk to Lily and the professor about something, would you guys get Zangoose up to date on everything going on?"

They nodded and led Zangoose to the living room area, so they could tell everything that had happened thus far and what would be happening in the future. This left Ash, Lily and Professor Krane alone, the trio took a seat at the nearest table.

"I'm glad to see that the purification was successful." Professor Krane stated.

"It's such a relief to see Zangoose free now, I guess congratulations are in order on purifying your first Pokémon Rorschach." Lily said.

"Thanks, I'm just glad that I could save Zangoose. Hey, what do you know about a Mr Verich?" Ash queried.

"Not much really, he visits Gateon Port on a fairly regular basis and provides free food and drink for the sailors there at The Krabby Club. Why?" Lily replied.

"We met him today, one of his bodyguards used an Alakazam who easily took care of the guy who upset Jovi. There aren't really that many Pokémon trainers here and certainly none of them are that powerful. It just seems a little suspicious to me."

"I'll admit it is odd to find a powerful trainer in Orre but that's not enough to believe this man is involved with Team Cipher. There are other reasonably strong trainers in Orre." Professor Krane answered.

Despite what Professor Krane had said Ash wasn't convinced, the way he'd looked so frustrated when he saved the Zangoose as well as the strength of his bodyguard combined with the recent appearances of Team Cipher all seemed a little too coincidental for Ash's liking. However, he wasn't about to debate about it any more as they obviously didn't share his suspicions in the old man, but Ash knew that sooner or later he would find something on this Mr Verich.

* * *

The next day Ash was driving through the deserts of Orre looking for a new place train with his Pokémon, he'd grown tired of their previous training area and decided to check out a place he'd heard about, an old abandoned cave near Pyrite. It had been originally used by the old Team Cipher before they were defeated five years ago which meant there could be some interesting items left behind. Just as Ash was about to start setting up for a day of hard training, a man wearing a dark outfit styled after Michael Jackson, complete with a single black glove on his right hand moonwalked out from behind a stalagmite.

"Alright, who are you?" Ash asked.

"The name's Miror B and this is my base of operations. It may not look like much now but when I'm done, I'll be ready to take over the Orre region at the head of Team Miror."

"Oh god I've found the Team Rocket of Orre." Ash groaned as Pikachu facepalmed.

"Hey man disrespecting me is not cool. Now you're gonna have to pay for that. Go my Ludicolo's."

Miror B threw a couple of Pokéballs that burst open revealing a pair of Ludicolo who were dancing around much like their trainer. This sight only cemented Ash's belief of this clown being the Orre equivalent of Jessie, James and Meowth. It was annoying that he'd have to waste time battling this idiot, but he didn't have much choice in the matter. Since they were the only ones that hadn't evolved yet Ash sent out the Eevee sisters, so they'd have a chance to unlock whatever form they would evolve into. Upon seeing their opposition both Eevee's cocked their head in confusion but then focused one the pending battle.

"Alright my Ludicolo's use Hydro Pump."

"Both of you use Dig and then Iron Tail."

The Ludicolo's both shot a powerful jet of water at the Eevee sisters who quickly burrowed underground making the Hydro Pump shoot straight over the holes and hit the cave wall behind Ash, narrowly missing Ash. One of the Eevee's then burst out of the ground behind one of the Ludicolo's and drove her tail down on the Ludicolo's head making it fall to its knees as it is tried to ignore the headache now plaguing him. Ash looked over at the other Ludicolo but noticed that the other Eevee hadn't attack it, Ash looked around wondering where the other Eevee sister was as she hadn't re-emerged from the ground.

A beacon of white light suddenly shot out of the hole Eevee had dug, blinding everyone in the room and forcing them to shield their eyes. When the light finally faded it revealed that both Ludicolo's were unconscious and a strange Pokémon was now stood in front of Ash. It had grey fur, purple flames that reminded Ash of a Will-O-Wisp attack acting as a tail, a white mask that covered part of her face like The Phantom of the Opera and what looked like a white, hooded cloak on its back and covering its head.

"Eevee is that you?"

"Spectreon." It replied with a nod.

"Well since you're ghost type now this move will be even more powerful, use Shadow Ball."

A dark orb of ghostly energy formed in Spectreon's mouth and she fired the orb at the Ludicolo that was still standing sending him flying across the cave until he slammed into the wall and slumped to the ground. The attack hadn't knocked him out, but it had taken a lot out of him, despite the pain he was feeling Ludicolo got up and stood alongside the other Ludicolo who had gotten back up. Ash could see that both Pokémon were almost done and wanted this battle over with.

"Alright let's finish them off, Spectreon form a Shadow Ball and Eevee use Iron Tail on it."

The ghost type started to form a far larger Shadow Ball in front of herself, she knew it needed to be big enough to hit both Ludicolo's and still have the power to knock them out with the help of Eevee's Iron Tail. Suddenly a person appeared from the shadows with a pair of Ariados beside her both of whom shot a stream of poisonous toxins at Spectreon who was still charging her super powered Shadow Ball.

Eevee saw the attacks headed towards her sister and tackled her out of the way causing Spectreon to prematurely fire the Shadow Ball which knocked out one of the Ludicolo. The other consequence was that both lots of Toxics hit Eevee instead of Spectreon making Eevee whimper in pain as the toxic flooded her system. Fearing the worst Ash and Spectreon quickly made their way to Eevee's side while Pikachu took the fight to the Ariados' and remaining Ludicolo. Ash tried to pick up Eevee but was forced to put her down as the Toxic burnt through his sleeves and stung his flesh.

"Y-you're going to be okay Eevee, I promise."

Ash started searching through his backpack for something to help Eevee while Spectreon tried to comfort her sister. While it was appreciated by Eevee it didn't stop her from feeling weak, the poison was causing her tremendous pain but Eevee wouldn't let this poison beat her. Ash and Spectreon watched on in shock as Eevee forced herself back to her feet and let out a loud cry as she started to glow white.

The light soon died down revealing another Eeveelution Ash had never seen before, her body was mostly a faded pink colour with a brighter pink head and ears which drooped either side of her face. Her eyes were bright blue and there were also what appeared to be poison dripping from the tips of her ears, paws and her tail which sizzled on the cave floor.

"Toxeon." The new Eeveelution announced.

As soon as he saw Toxeon was okay Ash picked her up and hugged Toxeon tightly as he let out a few tears, something he hadn't done for months. To say he was relieved that she was okay would be an understatement, he'd been so scared that he would lose her, and he wasn't sure he could handle losing anyone else. The poison type Eeveelution licked Ash's cheeks to remove the tears and then nuzzled him. Ash then realised that he had been hugging Toxeon but not being harmed by the poison dripping from her body, Ash could only guess that Toxeon could control when her poison was dangerous or not.

"You want to be the one that finishes this Toxeon?"

The poison type nodded and then retook her position on the battlefield, she had a score to settle now. Although it seemed that Pikachu had done a lot of the work as there was now a badly injured Ludicolo which wasn't one of the ones she's battled before she was attacked by the Ariados. A quick glance to the right showed that they had obviously been dealt with as well since there was now an injured Machoke stood in front of the woman who had attacked her.

"Use Sludge Bomb!"

Toxeon shot a large glob of poison at both Machoke and Ludicolo drenching them both in poison, a smirk crept on to Toxeon's face as she heard Machoke and Ludicolo cry out in pain as they collapsed to the floor. Winning always made her feel good but this time it felt especially good after their sneaky Toxic attack early had left her in so much pain. With the battle won Toxeon and Spectreon went back to Ash and nuzzled him. Ash hugged both Eeveelutions and then started walking towards Miror B, him and his lackey had caused Toxeon a lot of pain and they'd pay for that.

Miror B saw the masked man stalking his way and quickly decided to leave before he could unleash his wrath on him. The leader of Team Miror sprinted out of the cave with the woman close behind him having only enough time to yell a stereotypical I'll get you next time before he was gone.

* * *

With discount Jessie, James and Meowth dealt with Ash was able to relax, he sat down on the cave and hugged Spectreon and Toxeon, proud that the pair had evolved and fought so hard. He was curious what caused Spectreon's evolution though, Toxeon had obviously somehow embraced the poison circulating through her body and used that to evolve but the same couldn't be said the Spectreon.

Ash then spotted a Dusk Stone on the ground near where she had used Dig which had obviously been the trigger for the evolution. Then again Dusk Stones were common in the main regions so why hadn't Spectreon been found there before? Ash decided to put it down once again to the region itself or maybe just this cave, to be honest it didn't really bother him. Spectreon was happy and that was all that mattered to him.

After what had happened so far today Ash didn't know if he even wanted to train right now but still sent out his Pokémon, so they could if they wanted to. They all appeared and looked around the cave guessing that it was their new training area, they were about to start training when they saw the two new Pokémon sat in Ash's lap nuzzling him.

Everyone walked over to them and were quick to congratulate the new Eeveelutions although Ash could see that the two male Eevee's were jealous that their sisters had all evolved now, and they had not. While they may be worried about that considering how quickly their sisters had evolved, Ash wasn't, he knew it was only a matter of time until they finally unlocked their potential like their sisters had done. It did make Ash wonder what other Eeveelutions they could evolve into, he now had a ghost, poison and ground type Eeveelution and was sure that the final two would also evolve into a new Eeveelution just like their sisters had.

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Please take a moment to check out the poll and vote for your choice.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	11. Eeveelution & Shadow Pokemon

Hey so I'm new to writing and decided to start things off with perhaps the most overused cliché in the entire Pokémon fandom: betrayal. I know that there is next to no originality in betrayal fics, but I thought it would be an easy was to get into writing and try and put my own spin on it.

I will be using a few Fakemons for the 5 Eevee's. I'll put links on my profile of fanart that will hopefully take you to them. All credit to the individuals who created the awesome fanart.

Sorry for the long, long wait guys, been working two jobs and trying to get a YouTube/Twitch running and so fanfiction got pushed to the back of my priorities. However I never forgot about this, I just needed to wait for the spare time to write. I can't promise updates quickly since as I said 2 jobs and online content creation takes up most of my time but I'll try my best to update this whenever I can.

Thanks for all the support, I really do appreciate it. I wish I could give you faster updates but there's nothing I can do for now until I somehow find a way to live without the second job.

Anyway hope you all enjoy this chapter.

* * *

A few weeks had passed since Zangoose had been purified and the Eevee sisters had evolved, there had been no word from Team Cipher, not sight nor sound which left everyone on edge. The evil team had never done this before, they had always made everyone know they were there and ready to strike. With this change to Team Ciphers behaviour Ash upped his training regime certain that once he got his desired items from Makon he would be forced to start dismantling Team Cipher.

Although today Ash was not training, instead he was stood outside of Doctor Kaminko's lab, the old bastard had apparently come up with some crazy new contraption that was going to be the best thing since the Master Ball. This was something Ash had heard several times already and he really had no interest in watching another one of the old man's useless inventions fall apart.

Sadly, he had drawn the short straw once again, Ash was certain now that the other had rigged it, so he'd always lose, and he had no option but to investigate. After letting out a sigh Ash knocked on the door and Chobin swiftly answered it, in fact he was there so quick that Ash knew he must have been stood there waiting for someone to arrive.

"Ah hello Rorschach, here to see Doctor Kaminko's new invention, yes?" Chobin asked.

"Yeah, what is it this time?"

Rather than answer the question Chobin took a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button on it, the sounds of machinery behind him made Ash turn around to see what it was, and he was shocked to see a robot that resembled a Groudon. There was a cockpit which was obviously how it was controlled and for once Ash found himself slightly interested in what this contraption could do. Of course, he wasn't about to admit that to Chobin or Kaminko.

"Okay what in the name of Giratina is that?!"

"It is the Robo Groudon."

"Which does what exactly?"

"You use it to control your Pokémon in a battle."

Ash sighed and facepalmed, a little embarrassed that he had thought for a moment that Kaminko had actually done something right for once. The only bright side was that it didn't appear to have a downside like his ridiculous invention like painful shoes, fridges that deliberately don't work and of course who could forget the utter screw up that was the Pokémon Translator. Which had actually caused the Pokémon to become mute rather than allow them to speak to humans. At this point Ash was pissed off, once again he was putting training on hold to run a useless errand and he was sick and tired of it now. The next time they drew straws he would win, or Pikachu would Thunderbolt their arses.

"For fuck sake I actually thought he'd made something useful. Well this is just great; the old bastard has churned out another useless piece of crap."

"Hey, Dr Kaminko has come up with my inventions to revolutionise the world."

"His inventions are about as useful as a chocolate teapot!"

"I'll show you how wrong you are with the Robo Groudon."

"Oh yeah I'm so damn scared of a dollar store robot that'll probably fall apart any minute now."

Chobin ran over to the Robo Groudon and climber inside, he pressed a couple of buttons and with a whirring noise the Robo Groudon stood up and roared. The Robo Groudon then threw a pair of Pokéballs revealing a Sunflora and a Gyrados, there was then a creaking noise coming from Robo Ground and a few moments later the arm that had thrown the ball fell off. Ash sighed and shook his head, this was such a waste of time, battling Chobin in a heap of junk was possibly the worst way he could be spending his time.

There was a small part of Ash that was tempted to use Greninja and finish this farce quickly. However, there was a pair who needed to battle as much as possible so Ash sent out the Eevee brothers, right now they were the only two Pokémon, apart from Pikachu obviously, who hadn't yet evolved and he was giving them every opportunity he could to help them. The Eevee brothers appeared in front of Ash and both prepared themselves for battle, the massive form of Gyrados not intimidating either of them. Though it did leave them wondering how they would take the behemoth down considering how big he was compared to them.

Gyrados suddenly lunged at the Eevee brothers with it jaws wide open ready to bite down on them while Sunflora planted its roots and started gaining nutrients from the ground. On instinct bother Eevee brothers used Quick Attack. The Eevee brothers dodged either side of Gyrados just as he was about to snap his jaws shut around them and rammed into his sides making him roar in anger, he swiped he tail at the Eevee's but they both managed to dodge away from him. the surprise attack from Gyrados had taken Ash off guard but it wasn't going to happen again.

"Double Shadow Ball at Gyrados." Ash instructed.

Ash decided to focus on Gyrados since he wasn't that concerned with Sunflora, it could learn some good moves, but it wasn't exactly the strongest Pokémon around. The Eevee brothers formed a ball of ghostly energy and then shot them at Gyrados, both orbs collided with Gyrados' head making him roar in pain this time and slam to the ground causing a large tremor. This seemed to affect the Robo Groudon as it suddenly started to spark and then it randomly fired some strange beam of energy that was headed straight for Ash.

One of the Eevee brothers threw himself in the way of the beam to protect Ash and collapsed as soon as the beam struck him. Ash quickly got on his knees and picked up Eevee, cradling him in his arms, Eevee moaned weakly as he felt a strange sensation coursing through him.

"Eevee? Are you okay?" Ash asked getting only another moan from Eevee in response, Ash's eyes flashed red for a moment as he felt anger building inside him. "Pikachu use Volt Tackle!" Ash yelled wanting Chobin to pay for this.

Pikachu was more than happy to oblige, feeling a similar rage inside him and charged at Sunflora and Gyrados as electricity surrounded him. Pikachu rammed into Sunflora and Gyrados knocking them both out instantly and then carrying on towards the Robo Groudon. Chobin tried to make the machine move but its jerky movements barely helped and Pikachu charged straight through the lower body of Robo Groudon creating a gaping hole in it.

After a few moments the Robo Groudon toppled over, breaking into pieces as it crashed to the ground. Ash watched Chobin crawl out of the wreckage of the Robo Groudon and then run into the house, locking the door behind him. Ash glared at the smoking ruins of the Robo Groudon, that heap of crap they dared to call an invention had hurt Eevee.

Suddenly Eevee cried out in Ash's arms as he shone white, momentarily blinding his brother, Ash and Pikachu momentarily. The light soon faded revealing, yet another Eeveelution Ash had never seen before. This was had a combination of neon white, pitch black and white colours covering his body and had neon blue eyes, in fact he looked like something straight out of Tron. The new Eeveelutions eyes opened and he looked up at Ash quickly nuzzling him.

"Are you okay?"

"Techneon." The new Eeveelution replied with a nod.

Ash smiled in relief and hugged Techneon tightly, he was happy that his Eevee's had been evolving but the way in which they were evolving was going to kill him at this rate. First Toxeon being heavily poisoned prior to her evolution and now with Techneon being hit by that odd techno blast by the Robo Groudon.

"Guess the crazy old bastard did something right for once."

The Pokémon all nodded in agreement with Ash, Techneon then jumped out of Ash's arms to test out his new body and powers. His brother was quick to nuzzle up against him though, Eevee was glad that his brother was okay but at the time jealous that he too had evolved like their sisters leaving him as the only unevolved one. As he watched his brother now testing out his powers and then looked up at Ash.

"Don't worry Eevee, you'll evolve soon, I know it."

That seemed to comfort Eevee as he nodded and then went back to watching his brother. After giving Techneon a little time to try out his new form Ash decided to head back to the lab, by now Chobin had probably called the lab and whined about him destroying the Robo Groudon so he'd have to go back and explain the situation. Ash sighed and then got back on the motorcycle and hoped he'd never have to come back here again. Then again looking at the pile of scrap he had turned the Robo Groudon into he was pretty sure that after this they'd probably never want him to come back here.

Ash returned to the lab and after being chewed out by Lily and Professor Krane for destroying the Robo Groudon and offending Chobin and Dr Kaminko it had been decided that Ash would never be sent back to his lab. The cheer from both Ash and Pikachu could have been heard throughout the Orre region as they now never had to worry about going back to that place again.

* * *

A couple of weeks later Ash was returning from another day of training, since he'd only been training in the forest near the lab he was on foot and making his way through the treeline. Once back on the main road a groan suddenly escaped Ash as three members of the Team Cipher appeared out hiding, each of them holding a pair of Pokéballs. While Ash was in a way relieved to see the members of Team Cipher as it meant they had stopped their strange act of staying hidden , he really didn't have time for this right now but it would be three less idiots to deal with later.

"Great more Team Cipher goons. What do you guys want?"

"To stop you from interfering anymore. The leader has decided that you must be removed indefinitely."

"Alright then, I'd love to see you try that. Let's do this then, I could do with knocking out a few more of you idiots."

The members of Team Cipher sent out their Pokémon revealing a Zubat, Poochyena, Koffing and a trio of Shadow Pokémon, a Meditite, Ralts and a Sneasel all of whom had the dark aura that indicated that they had to be Shadow Pokémon. Ash was saddened to see more Shadow Pokémon but at the same he was a little excited at the prospect of having a pair of powerful psychic Pokémon join his team as well as the speed and deadliness of Sneasel.

However before Ash could send out anything the Shadow Pokémon shot a trio of Shadow Blasts at him, Pikachu was able to deflect two of them but the third one passed by the mouse and headed straight for Ash. With no time to dodge the attack the Shadow Blast hit Ash, ripping through his shirt and leaving a nasty gash down his right-hand side making Ash hiss in pain and fall to one knee as he clutched his side. Ash had been hit by Pokémon attacks in the past but none of them had hurt that much or left a wound like this had. It proved to Ash and Pikachu just how deadly these Shadow moves truly are.

Upon feeling Ash in pain Greninja burst out of his Pokéball and launched himself at the six Pokémon in pure unadulterated rage joined by Pikachu who quickly went to work on the Pokémon controlled by Team Cipher. Within moments all six Pokémon had been knocked out with their trainers soon joining them unconsciousness, their bodies twitching from the electric attacks from Pikachu the Pokéballs belonging to the Shadow Pokémon were then shattered freeing them from Team Cipher's control.

Greninja and Pikachu quickly ran back over to Ash carrying the Shadow Pokémon with them and placed them down gently in front of him. Ash ignored the pain in his side and focussed enough to capture the trio of Shadow Pokémon and slip the Pokéballs into his pocket before he collapsed. On instinct alone Greninja picked up Ash and started running back towards Professor Krane's laboratory with Pikachu running alongside him looking out for any threats.

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


	12. I've Tweaked A Few Chapters

Hey guys,

So I've read over the story and decided to edit a few things to fit in with new ideas for the future, the biggest changes so far being at the end of chapter 7: Consequences. Originally Arceus was unable to find a suitable person to replace Ash as the Chosen One but now instead he is not looking for a Chosen One to replace Ash. Arceus has a plan in place and is willing to make any sacrifices, even his own children, to make sure that that plan succeeds.

I hope you like the changes, I wanted Arceus to have a little more control of the events that are transpiring and it'll give me the chance to do some really nice twists later on. I feel like I made Arceus a little too helpless and then heartless to what was happening with no real reason why he was allowing it to happen.


	13. The Past Revealed

Hey so I'm new to writing and decided to start things off with perhaps the most overused cliché in the entire Pokémon fandom: betrayal. I know that there is next to no originality in betrayal fics, but I thought it would be an easy was to get into writing and try and put my own spin on it.

I will be using a few Fakemons for the 5 Eevee's. I'll put links on my profile of fanart that will hopefully take you to them. All credit to the individuals who created the awesome fanart.

* * *

At the lab Lily, Professor Krane, Michael and Jovi had all sat down to have dinner, they had waited for Rorschach to return but as it got later, they knew they couldn't wait any longer. While Jovi and Michael ate their dinner casually as usual, Lily and the Professor were not quite as relaxed, Rorschach should have been back by now and they were starting to worry for his safety. Suddenly Greninja burst through the doors making all four sat at the table turn their gaze towards him. Horrified expressions appeared on their faces and Jovi to burst into tears as they saw the man almost hanging from Greninja's back with blood soaking his shirt.

"R- Rorschach, n-no." Jovi sobbed.

"Michael take Jovi upstairs. Now!" Lily demanded.

Without wasting a second Michael grabbed Jovi and immediately did as told, literally dragging his little sister away and into the elevator as she screamed in fear for Rorschach. As soon as the doors closed Lily and Professor Krane took Rorschach from Greninja and placed him on a bed in the medical room. Lily quickly went to work cutting the shirt from the man's body and cleaning the wound while Professor Krane turned his attention to the worried forms of Greninja and Pikachu.

"How did this happen." Professor Krane asked.

Since neither Pokémon could tell them exactly what had caused it, Greninja summoned one of the blades he used in combat and channelled a Night Slash into it hoping that would indicate what happened. This was more than enough for the professor to know what had happened to the man.

"It was a Shadow move." Professor Krane stated.

A nod was the only response both Pokémon gave as they watched Lily helping Ash who was laying there almost motionless, it was a sight neither of them wanted to see again. They'd seen Ash get hurt before but rarely to this extent, to the point where they feared for his life. They both wanted to help but knew that the best thing they could do was leave Lily and Professor Krane to look after Ash. They could faintly hear Jovi still screaming and crying from upstairs, so they decided to go and try to calm her down so Lily and Professor Krane could work in peace. The pair left the room taking Ash's Pokéballs with them, so they could help calm the young girl down.

With the room now empty and the noises from upstairs fading a little, Lily and Professor Krane were able to work in peace and between them quickly cleaned, stitched and dressed the gash on Ash's side as well as check for any other injuries the attack may have caused. A thorough search revealed that the young man had a couple of bruised ribs to go with the gash, they'd been worried the damage would have been worse but to their relief it wasn't.

Now that they were sure Rorschach would be okay Lily and Professor Krane decided to take shifts and stay with Rorschach until he wakes up. Professor Krane decided to take the first shift so that Lily could check on Jovi. When she got upstairs Lily found Jovi asleep in her brothers' arms, Lily took Jovi from Michael and held Jovi close to her in case the girl woke up during the night.

* * *

The next morning Ash groaned as his eyes flickered open, he could make out the shape of a person sat to his right and turned to face them seeing Lily watching him closely. A few moments later Professor Krane walked in with a couple cups of coffee, one was handed to Lily while the professor sat down with the other. A relieved smile formed on both their faces as they watched him waking up.

"I see he's finally awake." Professor Krane stated.

"Thankfully you're right. Well good morning sleeping beauty, how are you feeling?" Lily asked.

"I feel like I've been trampled by a load of Mamoswine, damn those Shadow moves hurt a lot more than regular Pokémon moves."

It worried Lily and the professor that the young man didn't seem that bothered about being hit by an attack, the way he spoke about it so causally made it seem as though it had become a common occurrence. That only worried them more that the young man seemed to be well experienced in being hit by a Pokémon's moves and wondered if he was taking such events as seriously as he should be. There was a long almost awkward silence until Professor Krane finally said what everyone had felt over the past day.

"You scared the hell out of us Rorschach."

"If it's any consolation that's probably only just in the top ten most dangerous situations I've been in." Ash replied with a grin.

He had been hoping to lighten the mood however the unimpressed looks he got from Professor Krane and Lily quickly told him that he'd probably done the complete opposite. Eventually Lily sighed and looked at the young man making him realise just how much he'd worried them. A wave of guilt quickly hit him and he let out a sigh, more in disappointment at himself than anything.

"We thought we were going to lose you and that's something none of us could take. You've become part of our family and we don't want to lose you." Lily said sadly.

"I'm sorry for worrying you and for not taking the injury as seriously as I should. This is all my fault, I didn't take some Team Cipher grunts as seriously as I should have done." Ash answered.

"Well, I suppose it's better that you learned that lesson now rather than whilst in a Team Cipher base." Professor Krane added.

Lily and Professor Krane then did a quick check up on the young man, changing his bandages and checking the stitches while they did a few tests just to make sure he was okay. Once they were satisfied that nothing else was wrong they picked up their mugs and turned to leave the room so he could recover in peace.

"We should leave you to get some more rest." Lily said.

"Wait!" Ash said as he grabbed Lily's arm gently making both her and Professor Krane turn their attention back to him. "You have both been very accommodating to me since I arrived here, I have started to see this place as my home recently and see you as family as well. And family don't keep secrets from each other, so, if you'd like I'll tell you both everything that happened prior to me coming here."

Lily and Krane glanced at one another and nodded, both then quickly sat back down in the chairs either side of the bed interested to know what brought the man to them and what had caused him to become who he is. It was something they'd both wondered about for a while now but hadn't wanted to invade the young mans privacy. They knew it had obviously been traumatic, overhearing a few conversations as well as some of his nightmares had told them that.

Ash took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to do, he was taking a real risk here of losing everything he had built here in Orre. However, these people had allowed him to become a part of their family and they deserved to know the truth and then do whatever they thought was right.

"My real name is Ash Ketchum, I'm originally from Pallet Town in the Kanto region. Before I came here, I was a Pokémon trainer trying to become a Pokémon Master, I travelled across the regions training my Pokémon, winning badges, symbols and even the odd trophy however it all came to an end eight months ago. I had just come second in the Kalos League and had returned home to see my mother. I went to the lab where she told me to meet her and found her dead along with a great man named Samuel Oak and a loyal friend named Tracey."

Ash paused as the pain of that event returned, while the memories had haunted him ever since it happened this was the first time he had spoken about it. It came to no surprise to him that it hurt just as much as it did back then. After a few moments of calming himself, Ash let out a sigh and then recommenced the story.

"My friends came in and accused me of murdering my mother, there was video footage of someone disguised as me killing them and everyone believed the footage. At the time I blamed them but it's hard to argue with that kind of proof. I knew that I would not get a fair trial, so I fled with Pikachu and Greninja as the rest of my Pokémon believed me to be guilty too."

"I find it hard to believe that you'd be capable of murder." Professor Krane stated.

"Thank you. Anyway, my friends and most of my Pokémon all tried to stop me but I managed to escape, I was found by my old Pidgeot and was then joined by a Beedrill who was a part of a swarm I befriended long ago. The rest of the swarm delayed my pursuers while we flew to Mt Silver, so I could plan my next move."

Ash stopped as he heard both Lily and Professor Krane gasp clearly in shock, he wondered why that had caused them both to gasp when that wasn't really the most shocking part of the story. The pair of them were staring at him, their expression flicking between horrified and shocked that the young man had gone to that forsaken place.

"You mean the legendary Mt Silver? The mountain that people never return from?" Lily asked in horror.

"Never knew it had that title, well I suppose there's a least one person who has survived it now. So, while I was there I decided to head here to Orre since there was no way I could stay in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova or Kalos. I got my mask and clothes on the way through Johto and then flew here, I spent a few weeks looking around Orre until the day I spotted your lab, I was about to leave until I saw Professor Krane being kidnapped and I stepped in. The rest as they say is history."

The room fell silent as Ash finished the albeit brief version of what had happened since he arrived here, Ash looked from Lily to the professor and saw both of them looking down, deep in thought. Whether or not that was a good sign, Ash couldn't tell. Part of him had expected maybe some screaming, shouting and a quick call to the police but none of the had happened, yet.

"So, what happens now?" Ash finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well now you know who I am and what people think I did are you going to hand me over to the authorities?"

"Of course not, you are a part of our family and there is no way you committed those crimes." Lily replied.

Ash let out a relieved sigh and looked at both of them gratefully, he had been worried that they would at least ask him to leave but instead they'd accepted him and believed in him. After all this he really didn't think he'd ever be able to repay the kindness they had showed them. Now that he had that off his chest Ash thought back to what happened last night with the Shadow Pokémon and knew that he had to act against Team Cipher soon or else many more people could suffer a worse fate than he did last time.

* * *

The first thing he had to do was of course to focus on the Shadow Pokémon he had captured from the grunts, he had to purify them and then go and get prepared to strike against Team Cipher soon. The organisation was far more powerful than he had given them credit for and that made them even more dangerous than before. The help of Pokemon like Charizard and Goodra would be invaluable now but he sadly had no access to them so he would have to train harder than ever.

With that decided Ash pushed himself so he was sat up and was about to attempt to get out of the bed, he had much to do and very little time to do it in. He winced as he felt pain shoot up his side but tried to push it away and continued in his attempt to get up but was gently stopped by Lily who then guided him back down onto the bed. Ash reluctantly allowed himself to be pushed back down and met Lily's annoyed gaze.

"What do you think you are you doing?" Lily queried.

"I have Shadow Pokémon to purify and I need to train more so I can defeat Team Cipher. After my last encounter with them I know I have to do something soon otherwise people will be hurt."

"You are going nowhere, you're still badly injured and definitely in no shape to do your brand of training." Lily stated.

"I appreciate the concern Lily, but I can't afford to sit around here doing nothing. I promise I won't get involved with the trainig, I'll just be nearby and directing them."

"We both know that you will end up getting involved in the training somehow and end up hurting yourself so you will stay right where you are and that is final. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Lily insisted.

"Oh, please what on earth could you do to stop me leaving." Ash replied defiantly.

Lily smirked at Ash which immediately put him on edge since he'd never seen Lily use an expression like that before, she then nodded at Professor Krane who got up and opened the doorway. Ash looked from one to the other wondering what Lily had in mind to stop him. There was very little now that could stop him from doing something once he put his mind to it. Althgou he was curious what Lily had that she believed could stop him.

"Jovi! You can come in now!" Lily yelled.

Moments later the young girl ran into the room and launched herself onto the bed hugging Ash tightly making Ash stifle a pained grunt as the girl clung onto him. Ash wrapped his arms around Jovi and could hear the young girl crying, as soon as this happened Ash felt the fight drain from him and settled for glaring at Lily, annoyed that she had basically used his kryptonite to keep him in this bed.

"Jovi was so scared, Jovi thought you were going to go away like..." Jovi whimpered.

Ash knew what Jovi was going to say, just like her dad. It made Ash realise just how hard this must be for Jovi, she had lost her father not even a year ago and had now been forced to see him badly injured as well. Ash tightened his hold on Jovi and rubbed her back soothingly hoping it would help calm her down.

"I'm not going anywhere Jovi, not even the legendary Pokémon could take me away from you."

"You promise?" Jovi mumbled.

"I promise."

Jovi pulled back a little, so she was still in his arms but could look at him and gave him a smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Ash smiled back at the young girl and vowed to himself that he was going to keep that promise, no matter what he had to do, he would keep that promise. After everything Jovi had gone through, he couldn't allow her to be put through any more pain and suffering from losing someone she cares about.

* * *

Author's notes

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Next chapter May, Max and Manaphy land in Kalos - yes I know it's been a while but that'll be explained (probably).

Ages of main characters:

Ash – 18

Jovi – 7

Michael – 11

Lily – 32

Professor Krane – 37


End file.
